Mello and Near's Idiot
by DulcetRipple
Summary: New kid at Whammy’s who is… Very Unique. I suck at summarizing, but plz read despite that fact! It's rated T cuz it starts out fluffy and then gets dark... Mello x OC, MelloOC and Near x OC, NearOC
1. Death to All is a name?

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Uh… I obviously don't own Death Note. I'm too young… I don't own Death Note: Another Note either.**

**AN (Author's Note): This is my first fan-fic, so there will be a lot of pointless babble at some points in the story (like this chapter), but that's just me getting (or at least attempting to get) into character. ****Anyway, onto the story!**

Chapter One: "Death to all" is a name?

Located in Winchester, England, there was an orphanage established by Quillish Wammy, more commonly known as Watari, the only known contact with L. This orphanage was for specially gifted children.

"Near, Mello, would either of you like to take a guess at why you are in this office at the moment?" Roger questioned the tall blond and short albino boy beside him. They were the top two at the Wammy's House, and there was a high possibility of either one of them taking place of the legendary detective L after his inevitable death. Still, currently, they were far too young for all that, Near was only eight, and Mello ten.

Roger was the current head of Wammy's and he was definitely not happy with them.

Mello glanced briefly at Near. The pale, white-haired boy in white pajamas did not make a sound; instead, he sat on his chair with one leg held up and the other dangling, a trait that annoyed Mello oh so much. Another thing about Near that Mello was annoyed with was how the boy kept twirling his hair with his index finger. Why'd he have to keep doing that?

But what prompted Mello's original annoyance to turn into a full blown anger that no therapy could hold back was most definitely those lifeless eyes of Near. They held no emotion, and there was a lack of _humanity_ in those eyes. Everything they saw didn't affect that boy at all; it was all merely _fact_ for him…

Mello was just that to the albino boy who was top in grades at the orphanage as well; just _fact_, albeit a very painful, hateful, and outright violent one. But it was just another part of life for Near, just another _fact_ that the boy learned and accepted, and didn't bother with.

Mello wanted _more _though. He wanted to be acknowledged, he want to _affect_ the boy for once! That's why he had convinced himself to get into the mess he was now in.

"Well?" Roger prompted. He wasn't at all impatient; he knew how smart children often took twice the span of time a normal person would take to go through things in their head. This exact same situation had happened enough times already, and he expected that Mello and Near knew full well why they were here. Still, he waited for one of them, most likely Mello, to come out and say it.

"Should I?" Near asked, his voice monotonous, just as blank and flat as his eyes. Those soulless eyes that Mello hated oh so much.

Mello growled and glared at him. No, he wouldn't let Near, who was two years younger than him win against him _again_. It had happened far too many times in his life already! So, just like every other time this situation happened, Mello let his emotions get to him and shouted at Roger, "I know, already! I broke another one of Near's damn toys and I shouldn't have done that right? Now would you hand out the punishment already?" After he finished, he chomped down on the chocolate bar in his hand. For some strange reason, chocolate calmed him down, and as you can see that for Mello shouting and growling is part of being "calm". You don't want to faze the guy when his chocolate supply is low.

Mello's voice dripped venom, and any normal person would have jumped back in surprise upon hearing it. Roger however, was used to this behavior, because, as was mentioned before, this happened more often than he would like it to.

Mello _knew_, for whatever reason, he just knew. He knew that it wasn't exactly going to help his case to shout at Roger- it would just make punishment harsher. But he wouldn't back down, especially not in front of Near!

"I take it then that Mello, once again, this was an act on purpose?" It wasn't a question, more of a statement from Roger. He sighed, not understanding why Mello and Near couldn't just get along. The albino boy was quiet enough and never did anything wrong, as for why Mello was obsessed with trying to make Near upset- It was anyone's guess.

"Mm." Was all that came out of Mello's mouth, because it was still filled with chocolate. He glanced over at Near again. He was still twirling his hair, still in that weird half-crouch position, and still ignoring Mello. Nothing new there.

Roger wondered what punishment he should hand out this time… Take away Mello's activity privileges? Make him stay in his room? None of these would affect him all that much though… Not to mention today was the day that L was going to introduce someone _very interesting_ to Roger, so he needed to hurry up and clear this office.

Too late, just as that thought flashed across his mind, some kids running outside in the hallway started screaming loudly, "L'S VISITING!"

Three point four seconds. That's exactly how long it took for Mello to rush out the door. It wasn't because he wanted to get away from the punishment (though maybe that was part of the reason for his speed too), rather, him, like many of the other children at Wammy's looked up to L, and was always overexcited when he visited, which happened rarely, because he worked on cases a lot.

Near went out the door too, though not quite as rushed as Mello. He was still slightly faster than usual and almost slipped on his own white socks. You could tell that he respected L quite a lot.

Everybody at the orphanage was quite surprised to see a girl around Near's age holding L's hands and walking right beside him. Usually, new children would be escorted to the school by the head of their own orphanage or their care taker; it was extremely rare for L to show clear favoritism to someone like this.

Mello took another bite of chocolate, unlike the other children; he didn't hate this new girl for being so close to L. No, rather, he pitied her. Once she started learning here, for clearly she was here to attend, as she dragged along her suitcase behind her (though she could've just let Watari carried it), she would face a lot of bullies who weren't very happy with her being _special_.

Matt, Mello's best friend, more like _only_ friend (and loyal dog) came out beside Mello from somewhere or other in the crowd of people. "You get in any trouble?" He asked. As usual, Matt was wearing a striped black and white long sleeved shirt and jeans. Also, he was gloved, which was understandable considering it was mid-November already, but he wore them _all the time_, even through summer! His eyes were glued onto the PS3 screen held tightly in his hands. Because of what Mello suspected was pure experience, he could tell his surroundings without having to look up for even a second.

"Mm." Mello grunted. As you have probably noticed, "Mm" was becoming quite a popular phrase with Mello.

"What do you think that new girl is talented at for L to personally escort her here?" Some boy Mello didn't recognize in the crowd of people asked.

"I don't understand why people take these things for granted. Maybe she's just an orphan who L happened to pass by on the way here, and he decided to get her to an orphanage. Geez… I mean L doesn't always bring back talents. Look at me! I was brought back by L, and all I do is sit on my butt all day playing video games- By the way, can you return that Halo3 game disk you borrowed from me?" Matt said.

"Are you kidding? I'm not done playing with it yet!" Mello practically shouted, because the kids around them were being too noisy and also squishing too much against them. Then he added, "And to answer your question: You are the third best in this whole orphanage! _Of course _L only brings back talents!"

What Mello said was true. Somehow, Matt, who was obsessed with video games, and had apparently no interest in studies, was third in line to be L's successor.

Suddenly, a particularly plump boy was pushed right into Mello, and he pushed on into Matt, who complained with a "Heh, watch it! I just missed an easy target!"

Mello was not quite as forgiving as Matt though, for he grabbed the boy by the collar and with little effort, picked him right off from the ground. Then, in a very threatening manner, he growled, "Stay away, got it?"

The boy nodded, made a sound that was somewhat similar to a whimper, and scrambled as far away as possible. The people around, noticing the incident, actually cleared a circle for Mello and Matt, because they were scared of him.

"You really need anger management, ya know?" Matt asked.

"Mm."

"But I suppose chocolate is your anger management, eh?"

"Mm."

"Tell me if you don't have enough chocolate. I'll buy a whole box for you, my treat."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In return, keep me alive when you start going crazy someday without chocolate."

Just as they finished the conversation (of sorts), Roger reached the little girl with L. As soon as the girl got within sight, Roger noticed her eyes.

They were both orangey-brown, just barely on the edge of flashing red, and they were certainly very, _very, _unstable. Roger had seen these kinds of eyes, once and only once- with B. His breath caught in his throat as he remembered the student that became a serial murderer but was eventually brought to justice by L.

"What's your name?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from quivering.

The girl tilted her head to one side and shrugged. "Real or fake?"

"Real for now, I suppose." Roger said without thinking, everyone at Wammy's had a fake name, but he _did_ have records of most of their real names, though it was top secret. His throat was dry; this girl was really making an impression on him. Though she had only said three words to him so far, he could hear from her voice something that he had heard from A (another Wammy's student, first generation)'s but had failed to recognize…

Suicidal intent…

Very clearly, raising her voice to its loudest, which was surprisingly loud enough to get every person in probably the whole hallway to hear even above their own chatter, the girl stood up tall, let go of L's hand and spoke with an unreadable look right into Roger's face:

"Death to all."

The words echoed off the walls, and instantly everyone was silent, even Roger himself was breathless. The only sounds left was Mello chomping on his chocolate bar, and Matt's PS3 making gun noises.

Near was at the very back of the crowd, as he didn't have the motive (nor the strength) to push up front, as he knew L would come speak to him, Mello and Matt privately sometime later just like every other time he visited. But even he could hear the words the girl had shouted. _Very interesting…_ He thought.

As for Mello, all he was wondering was: _"Death to all" is a name?_


	2. The Knife

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note, *sigh*.**

**AN: So um… I've allowed anonymous reviews so yeah. Actually, I didn't even realize I was _not_ allowing them, cuz I'm new to fan fiction writing… Pls point it out to me in the reviews if you see anything wrong. Thx for reading so far.**

Chapter Two: The Knife

"_Death to all."_

Those words were filled with what seemed like endless hatred, with a meaning so deep that Roger doubted he would understand even if he had known what the girl had meant (which he oh so obviously hadn't). She was deadly serious, with her eyes ablaze, a deadly inferno that Roger feared staring into.

The awkward silence was broken by L, who said, "We really should get going." Because it seemed no one else was interested in breaking the ice.

In a few moments, Watari, L, Roger and the new girl, were in the office. The kids were all quite weirded out by this incident but after quite a bit of mumbling amongst themselves, they all went back to their own business since it was free time.

"Perhaps… you would like to pick a code name?" Roger asked, nervously. L hadn't commented much through the entire ordeal earlier; instead he had observed the girl the entire time, and perhaps he found her slightly unnerving too… This was why Roger used the term "code name" as kids would say, instead of the term he preferred more, "alias", he didn't want this girl to glare anymore, not only was it extremely uncomfortable, it also made him feel like a test subject.

"I know. I want to be called Risa!" She declared before anybody could say anymore. The venom was gone from her voice, but it wasn't quite the voice an exited person would have either, more like an oh-whatever-I'll-be-good-if-that's-what-you-want voice.

Roger sat down, finally getting his bearings and realizing that he had yet to give Risa an once-over and analyze her. All that he had noticed were her eyes, because those eyes were so familiar…

Now that he had the time to scan her and notice the details, he realized that she was about average height for her age, taller than Near, but shorter than Mello; she also had long, straight black hair that she tied back in a ponytail; other than that she had a look on her face that looked like a pout, and made her seem extremely childish.

"Please do take a seat." Roger announced, gesturing at the same time. In his opinion, weirdness was as good a way to gauge whether or not a person was a genius as any. For example, L sat with his legs pulled up into a crouch, his back hunched and he always bit at his thumb.

Risa sat down in the normal manner though, and Roger was surprised at himself for being partially disappointed. She was wearing a red sweater and long baggy brown pants with no apparent design. No matter how you looked at her, she was just a normal eight-years old.

That is… _If_ Roger hadn't seen her pull that stunt earlier in the hallway. Now he knew for certain that she wasn't ordinary in the least, just really good at hiding it.

"I'm sorry for my behavior earlier!" She suddenly squeaked, her voice now oddly high-pitched and her eyes darting around nervously. She was also fidgeting more than a normal person should be. It was as if she had suddenly awakened from a dream and noticed how Roger and L were scrutinizing her with analyzing looks.

"Would you like to explain why it was that you… Acted like you did?" Roger asked, being careful to keep his breath steady and not make his voice rise. He had noticed the sudden change in emotion for Risa and he was pretty sure L had too.

This child… Had problems… _Serious _problems, like psychological disorder, the kind of stuff that would lead to her going crazy in the future, _if _she wasn't crazy already. He shivered, thinking of B again.

"I don't know." She said, her voice once again filled with deadly poison, warning that if he asked any further, nothing good would come out of it. Her "dark side" (as Roger thought of it) had come out again.

L noticed that the exchange was getting slightly threatening, so he swerved around the touchy topic, "I would like for Risa to stay at Wammy's House for at least two more years before I deem her… Safe to the rest of society." It was a statement, not a question, for L knew that Roger would not refuse him.

Roger nodded. He wasn't very happy about this new student out of the blue but he supposed he had to deal with it. Besides, there certainly was something about her that was _very_ intriguing.

"Risa, do you remember the promise I had you make before I brought you here?" L asked, with the best adult-voice he could muster. That wasn't saying much, because L looked a lot like a panda with the dark circles under his eyes from insomnia, and Risa could barely stifle her laughter every time he talked.

"Yes." She answered, now nervous and non-threatening again, "I-I told you that the second you give me my knife back I would stay here for two years and not let Riku take control no matter what." Roger took it that Risa did know of her split personality's existence, not only that, but she knew how to keep it from taking control as well which was not the case for most. "Just _please _give it back to me…"

"Great." L stated and ruffled her hair playfully, and then he nodded at Roger. This was a signal for Roger to find somebody to introduce Risa to her new home for the next two years, and for them to finally get to the main point of his visit, the checking of how the candidates for being L were doing.

Roger went into the hall and waved by two passing boy, who just happened to be Mello and Matt. He told them to show Risa around and that her bedroom was to the right of Mello's and they should show that to her as well.

Mello just grunted. He was _kind of_ happy that not only had he gotten away with no punishment, L had also come to visit! Even so, he still wasn't happy about showing this girl around.

So, like all things he didn't want to do, he pushed the duty of showing her around onto Matt by saying, "You do it." And then chomping down on his chocolate bar, finishing the argument before Matt could get a single word in.

It didn't really matter because Matt was staring too hard at his PS3 controls to notice what Mello had just told him anyway.

While Roger was telling Mello about how he _shouldn't_ push responsibilities onto Matt, and how he would be punished if he didn't show Risa around, L was tentatively giving Risa her knife back.

The knife was rather normal itself, just one of those Swiss army knives that you could pull different things out of. The only difference this one had was the strange carvings on it that was in a language not even L recognized. Apparently, Risa had peculiar memories about the knife because she looked at it with a glazed look in her eyes, as if reliving some far off memory.

Risa grabbed at it with speed that would have surprised L if he hadn't already done tests on Risa's limits already. He knew her well, despite the fact that he had only spent around two months with her after finding her on one of his past cases. She would do _anything_ to get that knife back.

As it happened, L was ready for Risa's quick reaction and held the knife just barely out of reach for her. "Nuh-uh. You let Riku take over again."

Risa gasped, as she hadn't realized losing control of herself. It seemed that she didn't have as much control as she would've thought. Then she calmed down and told L with puppy-eyes, "If you give that knife back… I'll ask Riku to stop, I promise! So pweeese!"

Finally, L gave in, and handed her the knife. Risa held it very protectively; it was very, _very_, precious, and never again would she remake the mistake that had let L get a hold of it. But she knew that it was already too late for regretting, simply because she didn't go back on promises. She really was going to have to shut Riku out of her life for two years… Risa shuddered at the thought, but supposed that there was nothing she could do about it.

Mello unwrapped another chocolate bar as he walked upstairs, with the new student following. She was more fragile than he had originally thought she would be after the whole "Death to all" thing.

She jumped at his every word and even seemed to be scared of Matt's PS3's gun noises. Mello also noticed that her right eye was twitching, probably involuntarily, due to nervousness. Risa probably wasn't doing it on purpose, but she was seriously grinding Mello's nerves.

When they reached Risa's room, Mello pointed, grunted, then headed into his own. Matt followed him.

After putting all her stuff inside her room, which consisted of one desk, a couple of clothes drawers, one window, and one bed, Risa got back out into the hallway.

Nervously, she knocked on the door to Mello's room and asked in barely a whisper, "Aren't you supposed to show me around?"

Mello had heard the girl, his hearing was very acute, though he couldn't say the same for Matt, as the boy was concentrating very hard on his NDS (In the duration of about twenty seconds, Matt had switched games). He just chose to ignore her voice, even when she repeated again, slightly louder. More likely than not, she would just wander around after a while after she deemed that it was pointless if she continued waiting.

About two hours passed and Matt finally got up to leave because it was getting close to bedtime (which was 9:30 p.m.). He opened the door and walked out, saying goodbye to Mello, and stopped in his tracks when he saw that the girl was curled down in front of Mello's door. Her shoulders were shaking, and it looked like she had been crying (and was _still _crying) for some time.

"M-Mello, I think you should probably come out and see this." Matt stuttered. He had no idea of what to do with a crying girl. Nope, Matt was experienced in video games, not in real life situations- especially not ones that involved crying girls.

Mello came out, saw Risa, and swore a string of words that a ten-years-old seriously shouldn't know; even Matt flinched at Mello's choice of language (and he was used to Mello's fowl mouth!).

Risa suddenly looked up, then seeing Mello and Matt, she smiled. Her face was tear-stained, and she looked like she hadn't moved from that spot for the whole two hours, but still she managed a smile. "So you didn't forget about me." were her first words.

"You dummy, you weren't supposed to wait." Mello growled, going into his room to get a chocolate bar to calm himself down. What was the matter with this girl?

Risa gave Matt and Mello a sheepish grin and blushed, "Sorry…" She muttered, scratching the back of her head.

"Whatever."

The conversation was apparently finished, because Mello proceeded to tell Matt and Risa to both get the hell away from his room. They both left obediently, not wanting the blond to start having second thoughts about whether he should murder them.

But after Risa and Matt left, Mello stared at the place where Risa had stayed for the whole of two hours just because he had chose to ignore her. In a way, he found this ironic… She was just like himself, hating to be ignored, him by Near, and her by… Him.

Was that what his hatred for Near was? Some need to be recognized, and to be noticed?

Mello wasn't sure of the answer to those two questions, but he certainly knew that there _was_ a difference in between him and Risa. She would just sit and cry, waiting to be noticed; Mello knew he wouldn't do that. He would _take action_.

As his eyes scanned where Risa had been one last time, he noticed a strange glint and picked up off the tiled floor- A Swiss army knife.

He was certain that it was Risa's and he smiled while swallowing another chunk of chocolate. Mello decided that he would make her do some pretty embarrassing things to get the knife back. He rubbed his chin, wondering what kind of torture he should put this easily-scared and extremely emotional girl through.

_Yes, I have an idea… I'll use her to mess with Near!_

**End Note: I know you really don't see how the hell any kind of relationship is developing between the characters (I sure don't!), but that'll be coming up shortly… Never mind, it'll take perhaps a couple more chapters. Also, R&R please! I really will update extra fast if you ask nicely!!**


	3. Staining Near's PJs

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Don't own… Never will… Stop reminding me of the cruel reality dammit!**

**AN: Please R&R… and uh, am I updating too fast? As always, thx for reviews!  
**

Chapter Three: Staining Near's PJs

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Roger couldn't help but scream out when he saw Risa burst in through the cafeteria doors and start soaking everybody in range to the skin with two water guns (one in each hand). Roger knew that he should refrain from using any bad words in front of these very young fragile souls, but he couldn't help but swear a little.

Kids around him gasped, and said things like, "He said the S word!"

Risa didn't seem to care that Roger had noticed, she proceeded to the second phase of what she was doing… Locating Near…

Suddenly, the white albino was right in front of Risa, he was sitting alone at one end of the table, looking up at her with interest. Under her breathe, she muttered, "I'm so sorry for this!" Then, she aimed the water guns straight at Near, shifting a button on the back of the water guns that would make them shoot out the stuff Mello had put in the secret compartment. It just so happens that Mello loaded the secret compartment with- Muddy brown colored permanent paint.

On the other side of the cafeteria, Mello smirked to himself. He was certain that Risa wouldn't dare rat him out to Roger, especially since he had her knife (which he figured was really special or something). Mello had always wondered what Near would look like _not_ wearing white, but had never really thought of testing it out… That is, until today.

Near looked like a mud monster as he got up and trudged toward Risa with his palm forwards, wanting her to stop. Risa however had been strictly ordered to _not _stop until Roger personally forced her to, so she continued, despite the fact that she felt really sorry for Near. Her knife was more important to her than anything, and now that she had promised _not_ to let Riku take control, there would be no way for her to get it back unless she did what Mello asked her to…

Roger's hands clamped firmly on her shoulders jut as the water guns emptied. His face was beetroot red, and his teeth gritted. Risa got the message Roger was sending loud and clear, _you are in so much trouble!_

In Roger's office, Risa was nervously waiting for her interrogation to start, as Mello had promised it would.

"Why, Risa, it's only your second day at this orphanage, what would prompt such an act from you?" Roger asked, quite obviously unhappy. He did _not_ need to deal with this right before he had his coffee! "Who set you up for it and how are they threatening you?"

"N-Nobody." Risa stuttered out, kind of jumpy, her voice barely a whisper, she was staring down at her running shoes as if they were the most interesting things in the world. She knew, for a fact, that she wasn't going to rat Mello out, but maybe Roger had some way of getting the truth? They wouldn't use a truth serum on an eight-years-old, right? And truth detectors hadn't been invented yet, had they?

"Since this is your first offense here, I'll let it slip." Roger said, losing some steam due to the fact that Risa looked like a mouse about to be eaten. "_But_ you will have to apologize to Near… and the other people you soaked if you remember who they are."

Risa held her breath until Roger closed the door to the office in her face, and then she let out a sigh of relief that she had been holding in. She ran quickly to her own room, where Mello was waiting and would return her knife.

Mello was sitting on her bed, eating a chocolate bar and mumbling impatiently to himself. Matt was in a corner of her room, playing with his PS3 once more. Both of them stopped what they were doing when they saw her come in.

"You rocked, you know that?" Mello suddenly burst out laughing, "You should have seen Near's face!" then he added, "I mean, after the mud was cleaned off."

"I have never seen him so… annoyed." Matt admitted. He wasn't very happy with Mello making Risa do this, but he supposed that he couldn't do anything about it anyways.

"Knife back please…" Risa squeaked.

Mello shrugged and threw her the knife; she caught it and quickly put it in her pocket, deciding she wasn't going to let it out of her fingers for even a second.

Now that she had her knife back, Risa made her way down to the common room, as she didn't have classes that day (It's Saturday, people!). She was glad that she found Near sitting in his special way and working on a blank jigsaw puzzle with that expressionless mask on his face once again. It seemed that the whole water gun incident hadn't affected Near as much as Matt had exaggerated…

She was just about to leave when the boy suddenly stopped what he was doing, looked up, and asked, "Yes?" monotonously.

Risa looked around nervously, and then made her way to sit across Near. The boy raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but showed no other signs that he was going to say anymore and turned back to his puzzle.

Thinking back to what Roger had asked her to do, she honestly told him, "I'm really sorry for what I did. I hope you aren't too cross with me because of it…"

Near did not answer, and Risa took this as her cue to keep talking.

"I was totally stupid, didn't know what got into me, but please forgive me!" He still showed no emotion, "Really, I think we can be friends… I mean _if_ you don't mind some company. I just thought that since you were alone that you might be lonely, so uh… no offense intended or anything."

Risa looked at Near curiously, but still, he did not so much as glance up at her. Usually, by this point, whoever was talking to Near would start feeling uncomfortable with the one-sided conversation, but Risa was not your typical person.

In her mind, him not answering was actually a good thing; it just meant that he needed more time to assess her to answer her question about being friends. She smiled, and preceded to talk non-stop about everything she could think of, which was quite the variety…

This continued for three more hours and then it was dinnertime, Risa looked at Near enthusiastically when he got up.

By this time Near was mentally sweat dropping, he had never met anyone like Risa who could talk about ghosts one second, axe murderers the next, and then suddenly switch to favorite plush toy. Not to mention, nobody could stand his way of not talking during a conversation, and apparently, Risa was an exception.

He could tell that she really was sorry and that she really did want to be friends, and he _would_ have told her that. But something held him back, at the back of his mind, there was a nagging voice telling him… _If you say that, she might leave…_

Surprisingly, he enjoyed her company, even her non-stop talking, though he only listened to half of it. The truth was that Near _did_ want to make friends, he just couldn't speak up, and everybody seemed to reject him, or just think of him as plain weird. This was why he always sat alone, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This time however, he was surprised to find Risa sat right beside him, talking throughout the meal. Just like before, he didn't reply at all, but little by little a small smile crept across his face at no longer being alone (NOTE: The smile was VERY small).

Risa was quite enjoying herself too, she had always been quiet and shy and there was just so many things she wanted to say that was all bottled up inside. She secretly thanked her lucky stars for finally finding someone who would just listen and not give any comments or remarks. It relieved her of her stress, and she did so quite like observing Near's habits.

Mello was glaring angrily from across the room where Risa was talking happily with Near. Mello knew that she wasn't telling the albino about him, but still, he felt really, really angry for some reason that she had turned to Near so fast after just completing a task for Mello. Not only that, but Near actually didn't seem to mind her! And to add to that, she didn't seem to mind Near!

"This is it! I'll teach them _both_ a lesson after dinner." He growled out. Matt, who was beside him, and pressing away on his PS3 while drinking soup at the same time (which sounds impossible, I know…), just shook his head. Not only was Mello obsessed with Near, he was now obsessed with Risa as well! Maybe he needed to double the amount of chocolate he had stacked up, you know, in case of Mello emergencies...

Approximately one hour after dinnertime, Risa was telling Near, "There is only one difference between genius and idiocy. Idiocy has no limit."

Surprisingly, Near chuckled at this. Not even he could explain what had made him do it, but it clearly pleased Risa, so he just let it slide to the back of his mind. Only afterwards did he realize that it had been way too long since he'd last chuckled; the sound was practically alien to him now.

Mello barged in like a rabid dog, biting viciously into his chocolate bar. Matt was not with him.

Risa gasped and hid behind Near, not that the weak pale boy could protect her, but it just felt better to have something to hide behind.

Unlike what he would usually do (start smashing Near's toys, messing up his puzzle, etc.), Mello started shouting at Risa, "How dare you go to this little soulless ghost right after you squirted at him with a water gun? You traitor!"

Risa whimpered, and Near said, his voice monotone, "So you were the mastermind behind the incident at lunch." There was no menace in his words, just understanding, and maybe a slight hint of gratitude that Risa really _hadn't_ done that on purpose, because at the back of his voice, during the whole time Risa was here, there had been the quiet and unsettling doubt that Risa was faking it all for some greater purpose, but... Mello had just proven that Risa honestly meant her apology, and the thing about being friends.

"Aarrgh!" Mello rampaged, his anger blinding him. Not thinking at all, he grabbed the closest thing he could find and threw it at Near. When these situations usually happened, the thing Mello would find himself throwing would be a toy, because that was all Near played with and Near was the only one who was in the common room all the time.

This time was different however, because Near was not the only one whose possessions had been left on the floor. To Risa horror, her knife had once again fallen out of the pocket it should be in!

It flew towards Near, point forward. The boy was sitting too awkwardly to move, not to mention it was going too fast. The knife was going to hit bull's eye right in between his eyes…

Risa's hand reached out and clasped around the knife's sharp edge, Mello thought that he saw her eyes glow red for a second, but then he just ruled that off as his own imagination. The blood that was seeping out of Risa's hand from a gash in her palm and making stains on the carpet was not however a piece of his imagination, as was confirmed when it stained Near's pajamas too.

"Wow, this is the second time in one day I've stained your clothes." Risa commented blandly, folding the knife and putting it back in her pocket (Why couldn't it just stay put for once?!).

**End Note: Finally, some development! Anyways… Uh… Review and I'll update the next chapter! Don't just read this and ignore the review button, I really need your support! ^_^  
**


	4. Surprising Rankings

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note; I suck at drawing manga anyway (though I hate to admit it… Sweat drop!)**

**AN: Wow, I'm updating WAY fast, like one chapter a day… 0.0 I'll try to keep this up, but I can't do it on weekends. There are, other things I need to do (like lots and LOTS of homework). R&R, your support helps!**

Chapter Four: Surprising Rankings

One week had passed since the incident where Near had almost been killed, and Mello was still in a state of shock. Roger didn't find out about what had happened because the cameras in the common room had conveniently blacked out (seriously just an extremely convenient coincidence, has no greater meaning) and neither Near nor Risa was the type to tell. Risa bandaged her hand, and lied, saying that she had just accidentally cut herself with something. Near's pajamas had also been washed clean in secret.

Not even Matt knew the truth, but he did suspect something major had happened that particular night. He did not however pursue the incident any further. If Mello didn't want to talk it about it, it was better to just leave him alone.

It was Monday morning, the time when the rankings would be updated, but Mello wasn't showing his usual vigor as he pushed his way to the front. Nope, he was too busy scanning around for Risa and Near, if he didn't know better, he would almost say they had been purposefully steering clear of him for the past week.

This frustrated him a lot more than he thought it would. It wasn't _his_ fault that the knife had been there! It wasn't _his_ fault that Risa had gone to Near's side and made him so frustrated! It wasn't _his_ fault that Near was so goddamn frail and would've almost certainly have died if that knife had embedded itself into the skull of its target!

Mello chomped down on his chocolate bar, brows furrowing.

He didn't know why, but after that incident, he hadn't really wanted to see either Near or Risa particularly much either. Maybe they were doing him a favor by staying away…

Mello just honestly didn't know what was with him anymore! He couldn't even bring himself to go into the white-haired boys room and bash the little fellow's toys against the ground anymore! It was almost as if he was afraid… But Mello was never afraid, especially of almost killing the one person he hated more than anything… Right?

Risa just added to Mello's bad mood. She was now practically permanently glued to Near, for god's sake! Apparently she was actually quite fond of the quiet boy, unlike most (okay, almost all).

Just then, Mello spotted a mop of white hair in the crowd of people, and instantly locked his eyes on Near. That child who had always taken L's attention away from himself, who had never given him any acknowledgment, who… Who he'd almost killed one week before.

Mello shook his head hard and growled loudly to clear himself of such pathetically weak thoughts! There must've seriously been something wrong with him if he couldn't even rant about the albino boy inside _his own head_ without feeling pity. Perhaps he was ill with some serious disease that involved symptoms like delusion…

"New high score!" The noise coming from Matt's PS3 shook Mello out of his reverie, and he looked up.

He looked at Matt, raising one eyebrow, and asked simply because he didn't have much to do until Roger finished putting the results up, "I don't understand you, Matt. Honestly, how can you have fun besting your own high score all the time, knowing that nobody can beat you?"

Matt grunted, but didn't answer. He probably hadn't heard at all and just thought that Mello wanted an answer…

Mello thought of his own question. Near was probably was in that exact position, and if he had died… Mello would never have a rival that he always got fired up about anymore… Wouldn't that make life meaningless, or at least less interesting?

_If_ he died, Mello reminded himself. The slim and short genius hadn't, and that was the point! Mello tried and once again failed to get the weird relevance he had gotten after that close incident a week ago to get out of his head!

Roger was now done setting up the scores, and the children crowded around to see their own rankings. None of them cared to look at the top three spaces, it was pointless. It was just like how the law of gravity worked, it wasn't going to change at all, _ever_, and the only person who believed that it would change was Mello.

Near was always first. Mello, second. Matt, third.

It was no different this time.

Mello felt disappointed, not angry, which was quite the change. In fact, he quickly shoved him once again being second to the back of his mind and scanned down the rankings. First, he scanned the top ten; then, not finding what he was looking for, he scanned the top fifty. "Where the hell is she?" He growled under his breath.

Matt didn't even bother looking up. He was almost one hundred percent certain of who Mello was speaking about. The only person his friend would actually need to _look_ for on the rankings list was Risa.

Matt didn't mind that Risa was getting Mello distracted, or that Mello seemed to spend more time than ever torturing Matt nowadays because of his attempts to avoid Near, it was all irrelevant as long as he could continue to play his PS3 and occasionally the X Box in his room that Roger had _seemingly_ confiscated.

"What the hell?" Mello said, and then cursed very loudly, causing some children beside him to shift away due to the coarse language, and of course the fact that nobody wants to be near a swearing Mello.

_Risa, Risa, Risa… _No matter how hard he scanned, again and again, he couldn't find her name! She wasn't on the list! There were many possibilities that could have caused this: Roger's mistake, her results simply not being recorded, or Mello getting eye problems.

Without further ado, Mello turned around and walked to where Near and Risa were at the back of the crowd. Risa was talking as usual, and Near was twirling his hair.

"Why the heck isn't your name on the rankings?" Mello asked, not caring whether or not his voice scared Risa out of her skin and she reflexively hid behind Near, who was as emotionless as ever. He didn't understand how she could feel any safer behind a person who could practically be blown away by the wind any second now but it wasn't the time to ponder it.

"It is there." Near stated.

Mello ignored him, turning to Risa and repeated his question.

"It's on t-there though!" She stuttered out, her throat dry. She gave a very faint point with her arm in the direction of the board with the rankings stapled to it.

Mello took another bite, and said convincingly, "No it's not! I checked!" He refused to believe the "eye problems" theory.

Matt squeezed out of the crowd behind Mello and stood at his chocolate-addicted friend's side, hands still moving fast and pressing buttons at an amazing and almost inhuman speed.

"Dude," Matt said, referring to Mello, "Chill out, it's seriously on there. You just didn't see."

Mello did a double take, he had scanned that board around ten times and come up blank, and now these people wanted him to doubt his own eyes? He demanded, quite threateningly, "THEN WHERE THE HELL IS IT?"

Risa was scared, but she took two miniature steps toward Mello and said, "Come, I'll take you there." Then she grabbed his hand (with her non-bandaged one) and rushed forward into the throng of people who were quickly decipitating.

Mello gulped, then blushed, then mentally slapped himself in the face. Why the hell was he getting nervous just from holding a girl's hand? _Oh, I don't know, maybe because I've never had a girl hold my hand before! _He thought ironically to himself.

Mello was not antisocial, at least not by his standards. He played with the other children outside, and he was most definitely considered known within the school grounds, unlike Near, who stayed in all the time, and the kids merely disregarded as a white blob of genius.

He merely didn't like physical contact unless it involved him beating up the other party. Nope, hugs and kisses weren't for Mello.

Normally, he would throw a threat right about now, or perhaps just rip his hand right out of Risa's not-really hard grip… But he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

In his mind, he repeated over and over again that he was just doing this because he was grateful that Risa had stopped him from murdering Near, but there was most definitely a seed of doubt planted at the very back of his mind. Why would he want to be stopped from murdering Near anyhow?

Finally, after what Mello thought was eternity but in reality was only around a minute or two, they were right at the base of the rankings board.

"So, where is it?" Mello asked, swallowing a piece of chocolate. He didn't sound as angry as he wanted to sound. It was as if all that had happened a week ago didn't matter anymore. Mello honestly didn't know what the warm feeling in his heart was…

But the warm feeling disappeared as soon as Risa let go of his hand.

Risa blushed, and then pointed at- the last name on the whole list. In the bottom right hand corner, she was dead last.

Mello gasped. He couldn't stop himself. He didn't know what he had expected, but it was definitely not Risa turning out to be stupid.

The girl who could get Mello to not murder her for taking his hand, the girl who could get Near to actually _smile_, was she really the most intellectually challenged person in the whole orphanage?

Please understand this: the orphanage was filled with children of varying ages and varying specialties, but they certainly were all geniuses. Mello absolutely couldn't see the logic that one of the few L had _handpicked_ was politely put- dumb and stupid.

"What could you have gotten wrong for you to get such a low percentage?" Mello asked, almost strictly. Maybe there had been a mistake…

"W-Well, I think I spelled a lot of things wrong, a-and my number sense is bad… I just realized about two seconds ago that three plus four equals seven and not eight…" She mumbled, fiddling with her fingers.

Mello's mouth was agape. Even a NORMAL child her age should be able to add four and three using fingers!

He slapped his forehead hard, and said under his breath, "You seriously need help!"

The hallways were now almost completely cleared of people, as they needed to get to class, the only ones that were still there were Near, Mello, Matt, Risa and a group of whispering and giggling girls (who knows who they are...).

Suddenly, Roger popped out of nowhere from behind Mello and nodded his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, then decided, "Mello, you're right. From today on, you and Near will both be tutoring Risa every single week."

**End Note: Mello and Near as tutors hmm… You guys can help me think of funny moments and tell me through reviews. I'm writing this as I go along and have like no idea for the ending, so don't be surprised if your idea is actually used!**


	5. Tutoring Time!

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. Geez, how many times to I have to writer this thing?**

**AN: This chapter was seriously fun to write, I'm thinking of making a continuation!**

Chapter Five: Tutoring Time!

"They agreed to tutor her just like you said they would." Roger reported to L. Obviously the young detective wasn't actually _in_ the room, but rather, they were conversing through a computer screen with L written in Old English on it.

"Very well." L chuckled, not something you heard often unless he'd just solved a particular difficult puzzle, he said, "This ought to be interesting"

L said this because he knew; through the two months of tutoring he himself had done, that Risa was no easy student.

"So then… What days are you guys free?" Risa asked, trying to start a conversation. It had been two days since Roger's strange decision and they had yet to make any progress. This was mainly due to the fact that Mello wouldn't cooperate and insisted either he did the job alone or Near did the job alone.

"I told you already, don't say 'you guys', it's me or Near, hurry up and take your pick!" Mello grumbled. Matt had gone out to get him some more chocolate bars, but for now he would have to do without them before his red-haired friend got back.

Near remained silent. He knew that commenting now would almost certainly make Mello go into a fit, and he didn't want that happening.

"B-But-" Risa sputtered, trying to find some way to convince Mello that this tutoring thing would all just work out if he would let it! Unfortunately, her mind came up blank, and so the awkward threesome resumed their silence once again.

They were all meeting inside Risa's room, because Mello refused to go to Near's room or let the boy go into his. Risa's room was relatively clean and left almost exactly how it looked like when she'd just got there, the only thing she had done to make this room "unique" was put up a huge poster with some language neither Near nor Mello recognized.

"Well, if you're not going to comment, then I'm leaving." Mello stated, he did not like to wait.

Risa was in the middle of panicking when the perfect idea struck her with a _bam!_ And she knew exactly what to do. With a sly smile spreading across her face, she asked Mello, "Mello, I think I know why you don't want to work with Near on this!"

"Why?" He asked, disinterest showing clearly.

Risa took a deep breath; she was going to risk her life saying the next sentence, "Because you're afraid he'll do better at teaching and you'll be humiliated once again." Risa closed her eyes, afraid there was a punch swinging her way.

After counting to ten, she opened her eyes again. Mello didn't punch; instead, he was cracking his knuckles and focusing really hard on somewhere outside Risa's window. About two minutes later, he finally turned and locked his eyes with Risa's, and then he growled out, his voice dangerously low, "That's not true."

Risa quickly said the following sentence in case Mello was about to aim a punch and was just judging distances, "Well, you can teach math or something and Near can teach English maybe… We'll see who's the best tutor, I mean; you'll get another chance at beating Near, right?"

Mello thought it over. It _was_ a pretty good deal, but he knew that Risa was attempting to manipulate him like a two-years-old, and he wouldn't have that. "No." He answered simply. Matt was seriously taking too long with the chocolate.

Risa looked so disappointed that her plan had failed, in her opinion; it had been the most persuasive thing ever! Of course, you can never know what'll work on a ten-years-old genius and what won't…

"I'll give you one command." Risa told Mello, quite serious.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me to do anything within my control during the time I'm at Whammy's and I'll do it." Risa said. "All you have to do in return is tutor me!" She then did the best puppy-dog eyes imitation she could.

Neither Mello nor Risa noticed at all, but the quiet albino boy that was sitting on the ground in his favourite position blushed at the sight of Risa's considerably successful puppy-eye look. His pale skin going tomato red looked… Interesting.

Mello finally gave in and nodded, "Alright then, but I get to choose the time and subjects." Very appealing ideas of what he could get Risa to do were flashing into his mind, but he kept his face straight. He continued, "I'm teaching language arts, and coaching you for gym."

Near finally spoke up, his face returning to its normal pale complexion, "I'll do math and psychology."

"Uh… Near?" Risa asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm eight, psychology isn't one of the most useful subjects I'd like to learn."

"How about philosophy?"

"I'd prefer not."

"History?"

"I don't like it, but it's your best and most sensible suggestion thus far."

So history and math for Near it was. Near was going to teach on Saturdays and Mello on Sundays; they would both start this week.

Matt returned with the chocolate and asked Mello, "Did you survive and manage to not strangle Near without the chocolate?"

Mello gratefully unwrapped a bar and shrugged, "Yep, though I have no idea how I accomplished such an incredible feat, I really should be awarded some kind of medal.

MATH AND HISTORY WITH NEAR:

"So, Risa, do you know the four basic operations?" Near asked, twisting his hair and sitting on a chair in his usual manner. He was inside Risa's room.

"Well, Near, the fact is… No I do not." Risa muttered truthfully. "I only know addition, subtraction, some multiplication and no division." She was pacing around the room because she was too nervous about her first tutoring session to sit still.

"What do you have most trouble with?"

"Uh…" Risa thought very hard, and only one answer came to mind, so she blurted it out, "Everything."

"Let me try to assess your reaction speed. What is fifty-nine time forty-one?"

"…" Risa did not reply, she didn't even _try_ to work out the answer in her head. It was just impossible! She already knew that L had brought her into this orphanage not because of any particular gift, but simply because she shared one mind and body with Riku. She wasn't talented, in fact, she could even be considered stupid for her age…

Near shook his head, deciding to try something easier. He could read from Risa's body language (Her feet tilting towards the door, meaning she wanted to leave, and her involuntarily biting her hands, showing she was under much stress) that she had absolutely zero idea of the answer for his last question. "What about two times three?"

Surprisingly, it actually took Risa around ten seconds to answer this, "Six." She crossed her fingers, hoping that she'd gotten it right.

Near merely nodded and she jumped with joy. Secretly, Near was starting to get irritated, teaching Risa was _not_ going to be easy…

"I'm done assessing your math." Near told Risa several questions later, "Now I'll move on to history." Risa nodded, but made no sound.

"Name three Chinese Dynasties and each of their kings." Near said.

Risa shook her head. Around the fifth math question Near had asked, she had taken to shaking her head every time she didn't know the answer. So basically, her whole entire tutoring period consisted of her constantly shaking her head.

LANGUAGE AND GYM WITH MELLO

"How do you spell 'Saskatchewan'?" Mello asked, biting a piece of his chocolate bar, he thought that this was a relatively easy way to start language tutoring.

Risa however, was not very cooperative, as she answered, "It begins with S-a-s, and then is followed by something I don't know."

"WHAT KIND OF PATHETIC ANSWER IS THAT?" Mello hollered, glaring. He wasn't going to lose to Near, no way! But what was he supposed to teach to a student that couldn't even tell the difference between "they're" and "their"?

"I don't understand this at all! You talk rather intelligently, but when you write, you put the comas and periods in all the wrong places!" Mello screamed as he read a passage that he had asked Risa to write. When it came to grammar and spelling, this girl was ten times worse than Matt! (And in Mello's opinion, that is horrible. Trust me…)

"I-I'm sorry." Risa squeaked, tears almost coming to her eyes. She had somehow lasted throughout Near's lessons without getting too upset, but now that Mello was insulting her too, not to mention he was raising his voice a hell lot higher, she couldn't take it.

"W-Wait!" Mello stuttered as Risa rushed out of his room (yes, they were studying in Mello's room). He didn't know what he had done wrong, but something had obviously gone wrong if Risa was crying. He tried to convince himself that it was all her fault and maybe even Near's, but his theory didn't seem as convincing as he'd like for it to be.

He just sat on his bed, waiting…

Finally, after five minutes, Risa returned, her eyes were red, but Mello conveniently didn't mention it to her as she explained the incident as just going to the washroom.

For gym, they went into the indoor exercising area because it was cold outside and Mello made Risa do laps. He had thought that she would be very athletic. After all, she _had _caught that knife and saved Near's life, but it seemed as if he had hoped for too much once again.

On average, Mello could to about ten laps at maximum speed without stopping. Even taking the age difference into consideration, Risa huffing, puffing and _collapsing_ after one lap at a snail's pace was still seriously ridiculous…

"Hey, get up!" Mello demanded. When Risa didn't budge, he went over and saw that she was breathing heavily, her face completely flushed. "You shouldn't be this tired yet!"

Risa coughed and got up shakily to her feet and started jogging again. This time though, Mello ran alongside her because she looked as if she would faint if she took even a couple more steps. "Push yourself to the limit." Mello kept on chanting to her.

Somehow she managed to finish five laps, which was Mello's _minimum_ expectation, and then she wobbled and fell.

Mello stuck out a hand to grab her arm but she was surprisingly heavy, and he toppled on top of her. They were both scrawled, tangled helplessly on the floor.

Weirdly, neither of them made a move to get up. Risa because she was too tired and couldn't even choke any words out anymore, and Mello because… Well, he thought that this position was strangely comforting really…

Roger chose this exact moment to walked and just stared.

Both Mello and Risa got up, Mello quickly explaining, "Uh… Exercise… She fell… Not what it looked like…" Even to himself, it didn't sound very convincing; it was probably the worse lie he'd ever told before.

**End Note: Wow, this is longer than my usual chapters, huh?**


	6. Tutoring Time! Again!

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Death Note. I honestly doubt the Death Note authors would write a fan fiction for their own stories…**

**AN: ZOMG! I made a continuation just because I liked the last chapter so much! I've got an idea for the end of this story now, but your comments are still much appreciated. Also, I'm only posting this today (my second posting) because I feel terrible about not being able to post for you guys over the weekends, so yeah… Have fun reading!**

Chapter Six: Tutoring Time! (Again!)

Mello was very anxious to find Risa. He needed to see her latest marks. It had been around two weeks since Near and Mello had started to tutor her and she was still dead last and failing in almost every single one of her subjects. Neither Near nor Mello could fix whichever part of her brain that refused to process information, and they were left with a girl to tutor who they honestly felt would never become the genius they were attempting to make her into. No amount of Near's emotionlessness or Mello's bad temper could get her to be any smarter!

Despite the fact that Risa's tutoring wasn't going well toward her education, it did help with the relationship with Mello and Near. With helping Risa as a common goal, Mello seemed to suddenly forget (Well, not really, it just... Stopped being as violent) his long-term hatred of Near. Near of course, had always thought that the blond was perfectly fine as long as he wasn't half-murdering him.

In fact, both Roger and L were surprised when a rumor spread around the school that Mello was actually _conversing _with Near without the younger boy or his toys getting beaten up and thrown halfway across the room.

Mello chomped down on his chocolate bar as he spotted Risa fumbling with her books. He lent her a hand, which he wouldn't normally have done with anyone else, but he was finding out that he did a lot of things with Risa that he didn't do with anyone else, though he had no idea what reason could possibly be the cause.

"I suppose you want to see this, right?" Risa asked, taking out a slip of paper with her test marks recorded. She sighed, Near had come to check the exact same thing some time earlier. She simply couldn't understand why they didn't give up on her. She had just been born dumb! Geez!

Mello looked at Risa's marks and gave her a thumbs-up; she actually hadn't failed in language this time. Instead she passed by a mere 2.5 percent. If anyone had told Mello around five months ago that he would be congratulating someone for barely passing a test, he would have permanently disfigured whoever that person happened to be for simply suggesting something so ridiculous! And yet, here he was, patting her on the back and saying, "Alright! Way to go, you actually didn't fail this time."

There was absolutely no sarcasm in Mello's voice, but Risa didn't seem to notice that and she looked down, shuffling her feet, as she always did when she was slightly upset. No one had really bothered with her academics before this, so now that Near and Mello were putting up so much effort, she couldn't stand seeing herself flunk in almost all the subjects they were trying so hard to make her excel in… Yet, she couldn't really do all that much about her naturally being stupid either...

MATH AND HISTORY WITH NEAR (AGAIN!)

"Describe what a perimeter is." Near was fitting pieces of a completely blank puzzle together as he spoke. Risa secretly suspected that he had a photographic memory, as she could see practically zero difference between all the pieces.

"It's a… um…" She trailed off for several more minutes, before finally answering, "how much space a shape covers?" She sounded very doubtful, just like she did for all her answers, even the ones that were right. Risa could never and _would _never be able to be sure of herself when it came to anything to do with academics.

"Page one hundred and forty-six." Near stated simply. He never did bother with correcting Risa directly, instead preferring to make her find the answer on her own and read it over several times, it was scientifically proven that this helped younger children remember better.

Risa flipped to the page Near had indicated, she would never understand how he somehow managed to always know which page taught what. She didn't suppose that he had memorized all this _on purpose_, so this just solidified her idea about him having photographic memory even more.

Suddenly, Risa put down the textbook and crouched down next to the boy. Near did not raise his head, but he did tilt his head slightly to the left as if inquiring, "Yes?"

Risa didn't know what made her do what she did next; her hand seemed to move on its own without her command. She leaned closer to Near, whose pale skin she could see up close now, then she twirled his hair around her index finger.

"Yes?" Near asked, this time out loud.

Risa blushed and took her hand out of his soft white hair, she roughly mumbled, "Sorry, I just really wanted to do that since the day we first met…" before returning to her text book and learning that perimeter was the distance _around_ a shape.

Near made no sound, but secretly, he twirled the same strands of hair Risa had twirled a little bit more than he normally would have.

Soon after, it was time for history. This was one of the subjects that Risa was absolutely clueless in, and Near admitted that he couldn't do anything about it.

"Ancient Egyptians ate…" Risa attempted to think up an answer to a question Near had asked, but once again found herself stumped. So, once again, she shook her head.

"You know, you shake your head too much. Any more and it might damage your neck." Near said.

Risa gasped at this. Why had she never thought of that? Shaking her head just came as such a natural reaction…

Near chuckled, once again surprising both himself and Risa. "I was joking." He stated, once again emotionless.

Risa did not reply to this, and they just let the very odd moment pass without mentioning it again. Even though it was only for a couple of seconds, Near had let his blank mask fall, and Risa found herself very intrigued by the fact that he trusted her enough to let it fall while she was around.

LANGUAGE AND GYM WITH MELLO (AGAIN!)

"C-H-O-C-L-A-T." Risa spelled out. It was Sunday now, and they were in Mello's room, the blonde once again, being frustrated over why Risa just couldn't get the right spelling into her mind!

"No, you fool! How can you not know how to spell chocolate right?" He grumbled, taking a bite of a bar of the very word he had just tested Risa on. Honestly, over the past two weeks, Mello had learned that being impatient with Risa wouldn't help at all, but still, he took her not being able to spell "chocolate" properly as a personal insult.

"Why do you always eat chocolate anyway?" Risa asked, suddenly getting off-topic.

Mello, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to answer with the truth said, "I don't know. It calms me down and tastes good, I guess…"

"Oh." was all Risa said. Secretly, some part of her knew that Mello probably ate chocolate to be like his idol-L, but the part of her with common sense reminded her to not say that thought aloud if she wanted to live in peace for the rest of the two years she'd have to stay at Whammy's.

"What does 'diploid' and 'symbolic' mean?" Risa asked while she was looking at a project Mello was handing in next week. He had told her to study it and tell him any words she didn't understand.

Mello smacked his own forehead _hard_; he had made such a big mistake! If only he hadn't offered to be Risa's dictionary, he wouldn't be disturbed from biting his chocolate bar every couple of seconds because she knew practically _no word_ other than the pronouns. It didn't help that his project was twenty-pages long and with font size twelve either.

After what Mello considered a "difficult" language session with Risa, it was time for gym! They were once again working indoors, but this time Mello was teaching Risa how to play soccer.

Risa understood the basic concepts, but somehow she kept slipping on the ball. Considering that she had perfect vision and wore no glasses, this was quite odd…

Also, the only one Risa could play against was Mello, and Mello was just so naturally gifted at sports; there was no competition at all!

The day's gym coaching mainly consisted of Mello scoring effortlessly and Risa slipping and falling on her butt a lot.

As always, right after gym, Risa's face was red as a strawberry, and Mello could barely resist his urge to laugh out loud.

"Oh yeah… Have you thought of that one command yet?" Risa asked Mello after she had caught her breath back. They were heading back to their rooms.

Mello actually didn't get what she was talking about for a couple of minutes before his brain remembered and he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh yeah! I'd almost forgot about that!"

"Well, please don't make me drench Near or anything of that sort again…" She muttered, remembering the incident that had led to her meeting Near in the first place.

All of a sudden, Mello's newly good mood evaporated like it had never existed before (he shouldn't be having mood swings at this age!), and it was like there was a dark storm cloud with occasional lightning hanging over his head. He was _very_ scary as he hissed, "I choose the command. Why the hell do you care how that goddamn antisocial _freak_ gets off anyhow?" It had actually been a long time since he'd last insulted Near, and he regretted it the second it came out of his mouth.

Risa had a look in her eyes that said she was going to start crying and she did exactly what she always did when that happened. She went to the washroom.

Mello, not sure if it was his fault that Risa was crying or not, waited outside the girl's washroom for her. This would not be so embarrassing if it wasn't for the fact that it was the _fearsome_ Mello hanging outside the _girl's_washroom. For once in his life, Mello actually regretted sticking out so much, as so many passing students whispered about them. He couldn't even threaten them all to shut up, though that didn't keep him from trying.

Near walked by, needing to use the boy's washroom, wondering why Mello was hanging around, he walked up beside the chocolate-munching boy an asked curiously, "Why are you in front of the girl's washroom?" as always, in monotone.

Mello jumped when he heard Near's voice and excuses quickly flashed through his mind. None of them however were really believable, not to mention he knew that Near would settle for nothing other than the truth. The younger boy in white pajamas could most certainly read people's emotions very well, and telling lies apart from the truth was one of Near's specialties.

After listening to how Mello had upset Risa, Near merely nodded. Then in a very awkward way, he went up to the door of the girl's washroom and knocked, asking, "Risa, if you are in there, will you come out?" in a quiet voice.

Without further ado, Risa opened the door and came out, seeing that not only Near but Mello as well were waiting for her, she squeaked and ran for her room, not having a better idea.

Near proceeded to go to the boy's washroom with no emotion written on his face. He felt nothing at solving this crisis, which Mello had failed to find a solution to. He did however find that he was happy for being able to understand Risa a little more than Mello did.

Mello was musing to himself and decided that he might as well take his anger out on Matt.

**End Note: I understand perfectly if you think this is so pointless, just annoying and weird drabble. Well, the relationships need to develop over time, right? I'm getting to the actual plot part soon, after I stop making the characters so goddamn OOC! As always, I must say: Review please!!**


	7. Christmas Miracle

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note… La, la, la… Still don't own.**

**AN: Answer to Kerezteny: I do not watch/read Elfen Lied. Yes, Risa and Riku's names do come from D.N Angel, I'm glad _someone_ noticed! XD, I know I said I don't update on weekends, but my dad's out right now and inspiration struck so yeah... I'm updating anyway, WOOT!**

Chapter Seven: Christmas Miracle

It was that time of the year again, that very special time when L would always come to visit. It didn't matter what case he was working on at the time, he always took one day off. It was the special day that the whole of Whammy's (and close to every other child on Earth) looked forward to, a day known as…

Christmas.

Every year, it would be the same.

Near would always stay with L, though not for as long as Mello. He would always be in bed right before bedtime. He would always wish for the same thing just before he went to bed: _I hope I get the right present this time._

No, Near was not one of those hopeless children who still believed in Santa Claus. He knew full well that it was L and Roger and the other teachers who made sure they all got candies in their stockings and at least one present. As for how he'd figured this out; it wasn't exactly the hardest thing he'd ever done. There had been plenty of clues, like how Whammy's chimney clearly couldn't fit any old man, let alone a chubby one, and the fact that Near had awoken in the middle of the night once and gone downstairs for a drink, only to see Roger putting presents underneath the tree and musing over how he wasn't sure if he got everyone one and needed to check the list again.

If you are wondering what Near considers as the perfect present, then you're about to learn the answer. But more important is this fact: Near was _not_ a greedy boy, despite how that earlier statement made him sound. He was quite mature for his age and would only wish for something reasonable.

All he wanted for Christmas was something that _wasn't_ a new puzzle, some kind of stuffed toy, new PJs and white socks, or a robot… For some strange reason, people seemed to believe that he liked those things a lot because he was always playing with them and the supervisors at Whammy's tended to put more things of that type under the tree for Near every single year.

Near however was very upset by this. Yes, he did enjoy these things to a certain extent, though he thought it couldn't necessarily be called 'fun', but the point was: Enough was enough.

He didn't like it when people took for granted that he was some empty, hollow, blank, emotionless genius that only needed his toys, because that wasn't true! If only the people in Whammy's could read all the signs he left them… How he would sometimes give longing looks at the children who'd actually gotten something different for Christmas this year (which they missed because Near's "longing" look was almost exactly the same as how he usually looked), how he almost tried _too_ hard to fit the puzzle pieces as fast as possible so they'd realize he didn't want it anymore (which they dismissed as him simply challenging some kind of speed limit).

The person who got the closest to figuring out Near's need was Mello, in fact the albino boy suspected that Mello had figured it out _completely_ already. This didn't help one bit though, as Mello would _never ever_ give Near a present, not even if there was a knife at his throat.

Mello would get as close to L as possible for the entire day and stay with him for as long as he was allowed. After all, he wasn't going to waste a single second he could be with the one man he looked up to.

He'd always eat his chocolate bar and speak up only occasionally to ask questions when L told the children who wished to listen a story. Though Mello hated to admit it, he _did_ notice how Near seemed to act slightly different from usual on Christmas, he was unnerved by it, but didn't think he should do anything for his rival. In his opinion, rivals weren't meant to be good to each other.

Matt stayed close to Mello, and though only for around an hour, he would actually stop holding onto some type of game. He respected the fact that L was there, and he also wanted Mello to notice what _he_ wanted more than anything. Yes, Matt did see how Mello's gaze sometimes left L and wandered over to Near, and it just made him sadder.

Every single Christmas, he would always give something he found very special to his best friend, but the blond would almost always just throw to the side, more eager to open a present from L, the world's greatest three detectives.

This Christmas was different though, as Risa joined in and she was the type of person who always made a difference, whether she wanted to or not (whether she _realized_ it or not).

The first difference she made was when she interrupted during one of L's stories on the day before Christmas, she said, "Um… I made some food, would anyone like to try?" The kids all just turned and stared, she continued, nervous and unsure, "I'd just like to thank you guys because you all make me feel like I fit in and that's something really s-special so yeah…" She trailed off.

Risa didn't need to say anymore, because all the kids had noticed the freshly baked cookies on a metal plate she was carrying. Surprisingly, it had a lot of different shapes on it. Not the usual Christmas trees, and stars, etc.

Mello took the first cookie and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What's this supposed to be?" He couldn't make sense of the whatever-it-was-shaped-like cookie in his hand.

Risa blushed, then answered, "That one isn't for you, Mello, it's for Jonathan." Upon hearing his name called, the boy perked up. "He told one of his friends that he really likes helicopters, so I made him one…"

She proceeded to call out names and the shapes of the things she made. L looked at her, somewhat interested. Only Risa would be able to pull this off. She was absolutely horrible at every subject imaginable, but could always manage some amazing feet in the end.

Once the cookies were done being handed out, Mello looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Where's mine?"

"I thought you didn't like cookies, so I made this…" Risa muttered, shifting uncomfortably under Mello's accusing glare, she took out two things from a bag she had been holding and handed it to Mello. Matt looked at it and saw that it was a cookie in the shape of a PS3… kind of predictable).

Mello actually swore three times consecutively from over excitement at seeing the gift. All the children conveniently blocked the words from their ears; Mello swearing wasn't exactly something new for them. The gift was two chocolate letters. One was L in old English, the exact same thing he used on his screen, down to the last curl on the tip; the other letter was M, written in the exact same way.

A normal person wouldn't have been as excited as Mello was over this, but these two letters held a deep meaning to him. Not to mention, they were made in chocolate! How could he _not_ love this?!

The second difference was what happened the next day, when they all unwrapped their presents. Near, Mello, and Matt all noticed that they had one more present than usual and deduced that it had to be Risa's.

Near opened Risa's gift first, and although his face showed no emotion, his brain was working overtime behind the scenes. She had given him a photo… He had no idea when or how she'd taken it, not to mention that this was almost certainly against the rules at Whammy's… But he was smiling, _SMILING, _in the picture! From the second he saw it, he knew that he was going to treasure it forever, but he would have to figure out a way to keep Roger from learning of its existence… Oh well, he'd figure something out, after all, Near _was_ a genius.

Right after Matt opened the gift Mello had gotten him (surprisingly, though he knew that Risa had most likely forced the blond) which was a new Final Fantasy game, he opened Risa's gift. It was merely a card, on it were big, bold letters reading: **Matt, watch carefully at what I am about to do!!**

As soon as Matt looked up, Risa yanked L's gift (which Mello had been about to open) out of his hands and shoved the gift Matt had spent so much time preparing into his hands. Mello didn't question it, he knew what Risa's expectant gaze wanted of him, and surprisingly, he didn't argue. He opened Matt's present, and Matt almost cried tears of joy at how Mello's face lit up at seeing the present _he_ had gotten him before L.

Last but not least came Mello's turn to open the present Risa had given him. He didn't find what he had expected though (He expected another chocolate), instead, he found a slip of paper.

After reading it, Mello raised his eyes to look at Risa, and for the first time, he noticed the slight dark circles under her eyes, almost certainly from staying up to make sure all these presents were at their best (except for Matt's of course, that was on the spot). In Mello's hands were Risa's latest marks; written clearly under language was an 80 percent.

He knew that for Risa to have done this, she must've spent nights studying non-stop. No insult intended, but she was _not_ the type of person who could get an 80 percent without serious studying(By serious, he means practically 24/7 for about one month starting early). All just so he could get his wish granted on Christmas and beat Near...

"Group hug!" Risa squealed, and hugged every single one of them, and then made them hug each other. Mello didn't complain when he had to awkwardly hug Near, and Matt didn't even mind when Mello "accidentally" stepped on his foot after the tight hug he gave his friend.

Mello, Near, and Matt spent the rest of their Christmas with Risa, joking about things and just making conversation. It was night already when Mello noticed that they had been talking for a long time.

That night, it was sleeting outside. There was a _pat, pat, pat_ sound outside the windows and neither Near nor Mello could sleep through it. They soon found out that it wasn't as easy to ignore as they had first thought.

They both woke up late at night, Near before Mello. At first, Near was going to hug a teddy bear and try to separate himself from the world (meditation of sorts) like he usually did under these circumstances, but then he spotted the picture Risa had given him and muttered out loud, "I don't need to be alone anymore."

Then he headed toward Risa's room, dragging his teddy bear along, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but his body seemed to know, so he just let it take him.

Once he was inside Risa's room, he saw that she was staring at him and that the lights in her room were on, as if she had expected this or something, which was really weird, because she was supposed to be the one who _couldn't _predict anything.

"Can't sleep?"

Near nodded.

_Pat, pat, pat._

Risa smiled, and raised one side of the covers for Near to get in. Near did just that. Then Risa put two earplugs into his ears and started to twirl his hair in a comforting kind of way. He was asleep in no time…

Mello came later on in the night. Actually, he couldn't sleep either around the time when Near had gone over to Risa's room, but he refused to admit that he needed a _girl's _comfort. After two more hours of no sleep and annoying _pat, pat, pat_ sounds, he finally admitted defeat and went over to the room next door.

He was surprised to see Near cuddled against Risa, but not too much. After all, this unusually talkative, partially stupid, totally emotional girl had managed to make Near of all people smile (HE SAW THE PHOTO!), there really shouldn't be anything she couldn't pull off.

"Can't sleep?" Risa asked.

_Pat, pat, pat._

"Yeah." Mello didn't even bother to ask why Near was there; it was obviously the same reason as him.

Risa shifted a little in the bed, but not enough to wake up the sleeping albino leaning on her. There was now a space for Mello, and he took it, purely grateful, not even caring that he was sharing one bed with Near (though perhaps he would remember this once again in later days and mutter to himself, "What the hell was I thinking?").

Risa put earplugs into Mello as well, and he fell blissfully into a deep slumber, not even realizing that he was holding onto Risa's hand involuntarily.

Both Mello and Near knew that they could've gone back to their own rooms when they had gotten the earplugs, but they didn't. Staying with Risa just seemed so much of a better idea…

The next morning, they woke up in an awkward position, with both Near and Mello on top of Risa, and all three pairs of legs entangled hopelessly. It took them a full three minutes to work out whose legs should go where, to get it un-looped with someone else's.

Both Mello and Near apologized for disturbing Risa during the dead of night.

"It's okay, I find that earplugs can work miracles." She said, smiling cheerfully.

Near and Mello shared a knowing glance at each other. They both knew that it wasn't the earplugs that worked miracles- it was the girl in front of them this very second.

**End Note: This is longer than my usual stuff, I know… But next chapter is going to be shorter _and_ more exciting, promise!! Review pls! LOL, I'm updating fast with very few reviews too though... Heh! I guess the old 'review and I'll update fast' thing won't work anymore. (Disappointment from me)  
**


	8. Freezing Cold Part 1

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN! For the last time, sheesh, why do I have to repeat this for every single chapter??**

**AN: I really wanted to try a different style of writing for this chapter. If you don't like it, rest assured, I'll change back to normal by the next chapter, okay? Also, in the beginning of this chapter, you probably won't get what the hell is going on, please read on anyway, it'll be explained around the middle part.**

Chapter Eight: Freezing Cold (Part 1)

_How had it come to this?_ Mello thought to himself. There had been no sign, no warning, everything had just happened all of sudden. Even now, he still couldn't process the information in his brain, and _he_ was supposed to be a genius.

He would bet anything that Risa, who was in the back of the truck he was driving (NOTE: HE IS ONLY TEN!!!) was even more confused and scared than he was. Mello wasn't even going to try to deny it: Hell yeah he was scared!

He was in the driver' seat of a truck that was about to fall straight down from a drop so high, he couldn't even estimate how long it would take to reach the bottom! He was tied tight with rope to the front seat. He didn't even try to resist it, and there was no point anyway, since the steering wheel had long since been removed.

There was no way to stop this truck from going of the edge of a snowy mountain cliff in a matter of minutes, and him going off with the truck!

All Mello could hope for was that Risa would have jumped off by now. After all, the people who had put them in this situation hadn't seen her as much of the threat, and so they hadn't tied her up. He hoped that she would survive, go to Near, and avenge his death or something cheesy like that…

Just as he thought this, the side door opened, blasting frigid cold air into his face. To his surprise and horror, Risa climbed into the seat next to him.

As soon as she removed the chunk of newspaper that had been stuffed into his mouth as a spare gag, he hollered at her, "Get the hell out! JUMP DAMMIT!" This was his entire fault, if only he hadn't been so desperate to beat Near! He definitely didn't want Risa to die because of him; she shouldn't even be here for goodness sake!

"I'm not leaving you alone." Risa told him, very seriously. She took her Swiss Army knife out of the pocket it was in and started hacking at the rope (finally the knife is useful for something other than falling out of her pocket at random moments!).

Her whole body was shaking, and tears were pouring out of her eyes with no end- Mello was surprised to see that her eyes were deep pools of red instead of its usual orangey-brown. "Risa wants you to live and is willing to give her life for you. Me, I am forever indebted to that innocent and idiotic girl, not to mention I have already died once, so I will help."

Mello wasn't sure what was up with Risa now, she was… Different. She referred to herself in third-person, which she had never done before, and her eyes, they were just so mature- the eyes of someone who had seen too much death to care about their own life now.

Mello was freed from the seat and their eyes locked. Without communicating orally, they both knew at that instant what to do.

JUMP!

They hurled themselves out of the doors, just as the truck neared the edge and fell off. Mello landed hard in the snow and almost choked on it. He was breathing heavily from the adrenaline of almost dying; he could see his own breath in this cold temperature.

He searched around for Risa, finding her very close, curled up in a ball. When she looked up at him, he saw that she wasnormal again, though very shaken, and he dismissed the earlier change of eye color as his own overactive imagination.

"We are in so much trouble, a-aren't we?" Risa asked, looking at Mello, expecting him to know what to do.

"Yes we are. Our situation right now is basically this: We are about two hour's drive away from where the ski resort is. We have no idea which direction to go. We have no provisions and you have a gash on your face. That is about it." Mello assessed the situation carefully as he had been taught to do since he was little. Suddenly, he noticed that the gash on Risa's face was larger than he had first thought. Their "kidnappers" had given her that gash as a warning of what would happen if she tried to escape.

Risa looked at him with determined eyes, "We'll make it." She said simply, though there was a large uncertainty in her voice.

THREE HOURS AGO:

Mello, Matt, Near, and Risa got out from the private bus with L. They had been asked to come here with him, though they had no idea why. Watari had driven them, so they deduced that L was probably already at their destination and waiting with a cake of some sort in hand.

"I would understand if this was some kind of test for the best three at Whammy's House, but why is Risa here?" Matt wondered aloud. His goggles were on and he was wearing a fluffy vest and snow pants, as it was freezing cold this January.

Mello nodded, and took another bite of his chocolate bar. Then he answered, "Maybe she has some unique ability that none of us has figured out yet?" By 'us', he referred to Risa as well, because she was apparently convinced that she wasn't talented at anything.

Near stayed silent as always.

They went into the resort that L had booked especially for them. L was sitting in his usual position atop a chair, staring at them with wide eyes and eating a strawberry cheesecake.

"I have invited you all here because I need to assess your skills." He said, and then seeing that Mello was about to interrupt, he added, "Please don't interrupt. Wait until I am done explaining." Mello shut his mouth.

"Over the coarse of today, we are going to play several _games_, and it will help me in the decision of who will be my successor. It will not have a _direct impact_ on the choice, but I need to know how you would act outside of your normal comfort zone. Do you understand?"

All of them nodded. Not including Risa, they were all used to L's sudden testing. It was just that usually he would make Roger do it. This time however, he was here in person; they all wondered what exactly was different about this times testing.

"Risa is only here as a helper, she will not be an actual contestant." L pointed out. "You all will take turns, two at a time. One person will act as the 'kidnapper' and hide with Risa somewhere; they are allowed to change places over time. The other two 'detectives' have to find them ASAP using all the clues they can gather and their knowledge of the 'kidnapper's psychology."

"So it's like hide-and-seek?" Risa asked, interested. She was supposed to be a hostage in this situation?

L was silent; this hadn't crossed his mind, "Basically put, yeah I guess."

Mello could barely resist his urge to laugh. Even the great L couldn't do anything about Risa's simple mind!

With a strict warning of "Stay within the boundaries and don't go into the basement, I didn't book it!" from L, the game started.

Near kept on finding Risa first whenever he was a detective, and whenever he was hiding Risa, it would often take Matt and Mello around half an hour to find them.

This made Mello really mad. When it was his turn to hide Risa, he made her follow him down to the basement. She yelped and tried to protest, but he just told her, "Rules are made to be broken." In the end, she ended up going, albeit reluctantly, with him.

They hid in the back of a truck in silence for a while, not knowing how much time had passed because neither of them had a watch. They were both immensely startled when the back of the truck was locked, and the light cut off.

They (or rather Risa) shouted for help, but apparently whatever material this truck was made of was sound-proof as the driver continued to drive on without paying the least bit of attention to the two screaming kids in the back.

Around one hour later, the truck door opened. Risa and Mello were both very surprised to see that the driver was a burly man with a cigarette in his mouth and a pistol in hand. He shouted at someone they couldn't see, "We got some kids back here!"

"You know who they are?" The other one asked back.

"Nope, think we picked 'em up by accident at that resort back 'ere." He growled, "What do we do with 'em?"

"I'll tell you what you do: You get us back to where we were before." Mello declared loudly, standing up, ignoring how Risa was tugging at his sleeve, signaling him to calm down. Menace seeped from his voice, which only served to annoy the driver more.

"Wait." A calm and cool voice said from the front of the truck, it clearly belonged to a female.

The second and third speaker was finally within Mello's sight range. Mello nicknamed the driver Big Bulge, the second speaker Skinny (obviously cuz the guy was skinny) and the cool calm woman Viper (she had a tattoo of a viper on her neck).

"You mean the resort that was booked?" The woman inquired.

The driver nodded.

"Bloody L!" She screamed. Both Risa and Mello were quite alarmed to hear this, "They're probably his spies. I'd been suspecting he knew about our business for some while now, but this proves it! I wonder why he used children though? Did he honestly think I'd go easy on them?"

"What's going to happen to us now?" Risa asked.

Viper slapped her in the face, causing the gash to appear, "Don't you dare interrupt me!" She hissed.

Mello couldn't stop himself; he jumped on top of Viper and started punching and kicking. How dare she hurt Risa?

After that, Mello was tied to the position he was in and Risa thrown into the back. Big Bulge, Skinny and Viper got another ride and said Sayonara (NOTE: Japanese for goodbye, not sure if I spelled it right though) to them before setting the car on auto towards the cliff and ripping out the steering wheel.

NOW:

Near's mind was racing, he couldn't find Risa and Mello and it had already been more than an hour! Even L seemed to sense something was wrong, because he joined in the search.

Around ten minutes ago, Matt had dropped his PS3 and started searching seriously. All of them had a feeling that Mello and Risa were't here at all, but then - Where were they?

"Watari," L spoke, still quite calm, into his cell phone, "I want you to watch all the footage recorded during the last hour and tell me where Mello and Risa are."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"How come?"

"They have been taken out in that truck filled with the people you were investigating."

L was shocked speechless, and after Near and Matt saw his face suddenly turn paler and whiter than usual, they knew- something seriously bad had happened.

**End Note: Sorry for the serious cliffhanger, but review anyway! Also, just to tease you guys, I'll tell you a slight spoiler for the next chapter of Mello and Near's Idiot. Mello and Risa going to kiss! Mwa ha ha, I'm evil, now you guys will start getting weird ideas of how it's going to happen.  
**


	9. Freezing Cold Part 2

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. This disclaimer is so boring but I'm not feeling very creative right now…**

**AN: Sorry if you get disappointed from the extremely short kissing scene in this. I do not want to put too much Mello x Risa, cuz then I'll fell like I'm being unfair to Near…**

Chapter Nine: Freezing Cold (Part 2)

"I can't go on much longer like th-this." Risa shouted over the howling wind to Mello, who was way ahead of her. They had been treading in who knows what direction for about two hours already and Risa's curiosity, energy, and endurance had all reached their limits. This was WAY harder than the usual gym sessions she had with Mello!

Mello didn't answer back, his face was set in determination. They _were_ going to get out of this alive. No doubt, it was a fact.

Oh, how he wished that he was as sure as he sounded. He could be walking them _away_ from the resort and their only chance of rescue for god's sake! He had no idea if he was walking in the right direction or not, there was just white, lot and _lots _of white wherever he looked.

The right choice would have most certainly been to stay at the crash site and await rescue from L, Matt, and Near, but Mello wouldn't have that. Nope, he just _had_ to let his pride get the best of him and lead Risa off in the direction that he _thought _was right.

For the thirty minutes or so, Mello had actually been quite hopeful. He thought that he could get them safely back and help L with the investigation on Viper, Big Bulge, and Skinny. This hope however, had long since dwindled, and now the only thing that kept Mello putting one foot in front of the other was the fact that he knew and was chanting over and over in his head.

_If I stop, I know I won't start again._

This was why, though he'd heard Risa, he ignored her. He knew that she honestly wouldn't be able to keep this up though. From the exercise he had seen her do as her coach, he'd say that right now, she was about ready to die of muscle strain right there.

But Mello still pushed on, not caring if Risa followed or not. It had been her choice to not jump off earlier but wait and help save his life- he hadn't asked for it!

Just as Mello thought over whether or not he was supposed to be indebted to the pony tailed-girl in a red snow jacket behind him, he heard a loud _thump_.

At first Mello chose to conveniently ignore the sound, but after a while it got really uncomfortably silent, and he forced himself to turn around. Risa wasn't there.

He went back and searched frantically in the snow, calling out her name, before finally finding under a pile of snow, eyes closed, almost completely covered and breathing shallowly.

Mello's first thought caused panic, _what if she was dead?_ But then his many years of training for life and death situation kicked in and he checked her pulse. Faint but there.

His thoughts were coming in un-consecutive bursts, and it took him a full minute to work out what his brain was telling him. When he realized it however, he wasn't happy. His brain was screaming that more snow was falling from the sky then mere minutes ago, which led to the natural conclusion that: _A blizzard is coming._

Mello shook his head in disbelief. Hadn't fate messed up his life enough for one day? Now there just _had_ to be a blizzard to add to their horrible situation.

He half dragged, half carried Risa to the nearest cave he could spot, and took his jacket off, prepared to keep her warm even at the cost of his own life.

Surprisingly, she opened her eyes just as he was in the middle of unzipping. "Don't worry about it, I just passed o-out f-for a sec." She was shaking, though not because of fear, rather because she was freezing. Risa inspected the cave they were in very carefully.

It was large enough for both of them to fit. Though it was very spacious, their bodies were still slightly squished against each other involuntarily. Not that Risa minded. Mello's body heat would help if she were to not pass out again in a matter of seconds.

"So… I w-was w-wondering when I should give this t-to y-you…" Risa said, trying to find what she was looking for in her pockets. She pulled out a chocolate bar and handed it to Mello, who looked at her with a suspicious look. "Hey, it's not my fault that y-you d-didn't s-stop for long e-enough for me t-to tell y-you that I had i-it." Mello noticed how Risa seemed to be stuttering more and more.

He took the chocolate bar, quite grateful, then making a decision, he broke it in half, handing one half to Risa while muttering, "Yeah, don't think I'm a nice guy or anything because of this… I just feel kind of responsible for getting us lost and almost frozen in the middle of nowhere." There was no sarcasm whatsoever in his voice.

Risa nodded, then smiled cheerfully, which amazed Mello, she told him with a confident voice, "Don't w-worry about it, I know that N-Near will f-find u-us!"

For some reason, Risa's words made Mello's heart clench and his stomach flip, and he was very, _very_ angry. He didn't know why; actually more than anything, he believed that Near would come save them too; but something about the way Risa said it, or maybe just because it was Risa who _had_ said it, made Mello do what he did next.

"Stop depending on that white monotone, emotionless, uncaring twit to come save you. How can I get it into your head that he doesn't care at _all_ about anything, including YOU?" Mello screeched, which was seriously a waste of energy on his part. Then, on reflex, like he did whenever he was mad with Matt, he slapped Risa hard across her face.

Matt however, did _not_ have a gash on his face that was already bleeding, not to mention Matt's face wasn't practically frozen.

Without showing Mello her face, Risa retreated to a corner of the cave, handing the boy the half-piece of chocolate she had yet to take a single bite out of while she was at it. Mello made no move to get her to move back.

_Now look what you've done!_ Mello mused to himself. More than anything, he knew that his own words weren't true. Mello wasn't the kind of person who lied to himself about things, so obviously in this case, as soon as the words had left his mouth he had realized they were pure lies.

He had never thought this before, but Near _had_ gained emotions (relatively speaking, because the boy was still rather… Emotion-less) ever since he'd met Risa. Mello didn't quite understand _how _he knew, probably just some sort of intuition, but he could tell that Near did care about Risa and that the albino was probably trying really hard to find them right this second.

At the exact second Mello was thinking that thought, Near's brain was operating faster than ever before. He had to find Risa, she had to be safe; Mello was with her so he shouldn't be worrying, right?

When they'd heard the news around an hour ago of the truck they were searching for having fallen off a really high mountain and broken into so many pieces that the people who'd reported had barely even made out it was a truck at all, they had all gasped.

Normal, emotionless, Near felt fear gripping him for the first time in who knows how long. Probably since his parents' death…

Fear of how Risa was dead, along with Mello, fear of how he couldn't save them no matter how hard he tried, fear of never ever seeing them ever again. All these things flashed through his mind but soon disappeared just as quickly as they had suddenly appeared when he heard that no bodies were found.

They were safe, as long as they stayed put, they would be rescued.

Near had a bad feeling though, before the rescue team that had been sent reported to them that nobody was at the edge of the cliff, he'd already known.

Then, news of the blizzard had sent his brain into turmoil once again. The blizzard was so serious that search from the air was impossible, and no one dared search on foot either. Even Watari and L, with infinite resources couldn't manage to convince those cowardly men to risk their lives.

"Near, are you ok?" L asked, sipping a hot mug of coffee, despite his calm composure, he _was _most definitely panicking, which could be seen from how his eyes were even wider than usual and occasionally flickering side to side.

Near, who was in a corner, fitting a puzzle in his normal sitting position didn't look up. He knew exactly why L had asked that question, for the first time in Near's life, he had put a puzzle piece where it didn't fit.

Near was very surprised to hear himself say, in a voice that didn't sound remotely close to his usual monotone one, a voice filled with worry and fear, "I am not ok."

Matt, who was fervently playing on his PS3, wanting to take his mind off things, jumped up and shouted all of sudden, "What? Can't we do anything at all? My best friend is totally out there possibly dying RIGHT NOW!" Matt always got emotional when it came to Mello, but this was slightly more emotional than usual.

L shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid that whether or not they survive is up them to decide now…"

Meanwhile, in the cave, Mello seriously just wanted Risa to move back next to him. He wanted to at least check that she was okay… But his pride wouldn't have that. She had to be the one to come and talk to him first.

Suddenly, Mello remembered that one command he still had from agreeing to tutor Risa, and an idea came to mind. "Risa," He called out, surprising even himself with how quiet it came out, and he sounded so sleepy… "Come over here, there's something I want to tell you."

"Y-yes?" Risa stuttered, moving closer to the blond, as Mello had demanded, her voice was very quiet too. Tears had frozen on her face and almost all color had drained from it too, not to mention the gash wasn't getting any smaller.

"You remember that one command?"

"Uh-huh. Have you m-made up your m-mind?"

"Yes."

Risa looked at Mello expectantly.

"Don't move, just listen to me." He said. He wanted to apologize, to rub the tears off Risa's face, to tell her what a jerk he was and that he appreciated her saving him from falling off that cliff. Mello's brain however was in a half-frozen state and his body was almost certainly _not _obeying his commands as he found himself leaning forward towards Risa and… Kissing her lightly, gently on the lips?

Risa was startled, but she managed to remember his command to 'not move', so she didn't. She just let Mello kiss her for however long he wanted to.

The kiss was the exact opposite of Mello. He was bashful, forcing his way onto others; the kiss was tentative, he was asking for permission to continue.

Finally they broke the kiss and Mello muttered under his breath, "I'd been wanting to do that for a while now."

Risa, not yet finding her voice looked at him with eyes that seemed to be asking the question, "Okay… Are you going to tell me what that was for or was it just a random urge you had?"

Mello didn't answer, not because he didn't want to, but because he was no longer conscious. He fell atop Risa's legs and was asleep in a matter of milliseconds, the fatigue and stress of the day finally catching up on him.

Risa looked at Mello and contemplated her thoughts on the kiss. She had rather enjoyed it actually. She mentally noted that he tasted of chocolate.

She passed out ten seconds later.

The blizzard continued to howl relentlessly outside, with no sign that it would show any mercy for the two children and stop.

**End Note: Do you think I'm the kind of person who'd kill off two main characters before I even get to the good part? Maybe... Don't worry, this isn't the last chapter, but whether the next chapter is for a funeral or something else is up to you. REVIEW PLS!!**

**P.S. Sorry about that, seriously though, they won't die... Or will they? (I've seriously gotta stop sounding so evil...)**


	10. Freezing Cold Part 3

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, though I do own the science project I'm working on right now… (Sorry, that was totally random) Just so you know, it's on the Giant Panda (WOOT for panda-like L!)  
**

**AN: ZOMG, I have SO MUCH HOMEWORK! I just had to write this though, because the idea for this chapter was haunting me! Honest! Sorry if you don't like the Freezing Cold Parts, I'll go back to cute fluff next chapter. Also, I'm really upset because I only got two reviews for the last chapter but oh well; I'm still not going to kill off the main characters because… I LIKE THEM ALIVE!**

Freezing Cold (Part 3)

_February 1__st_

Mello opened one eye, slowly and painfully surveying his surroundings. He was seeing doubles and the pain in his head didn't seem to help. He couldn't seem to remember why he was here, where was _here_ anyway?

"You're awake!" A voice cried, Mello remembered that voice but he couldn't quite place it yet… Then when he saw the speaker, his memory, or at least most of it, came rushing back.

Yes, he was second in the Whammy's house. He had blond hair and loved chocolate. He had been stuck in a blizzard of some sort. He moaned and called out with a pained voice, "Matt…" He remembered his red haired friend quite clearly, the gamer was next to the bed that he was laying in, looking at him worriedly, glancing over his shoulder occasionally- probably to check if L was coming.

L, the person he looked up to.

Mello could literally feel his head clearing and him gaining more of an idea to who he was. "Where am I?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh, you're in a hospital. You have slight hypothermia and frostbite… Though not as severe as Risa…" Matt trailed off, seeming to be very uncomfortable talking about this topic. His goggles dangled loosely from his neck so Mello could tell that his eyes had slight black rims. Had his friend been worrying so bad that he couldn't sleep?

At the mention of Risa, Mello sat up. Pain rippled through his side, and he felt his lower body grow numb, but he didn't care. "How is she?" He asked, concern and panic in his voice. Of course Mello was also curious about how they could have survived the raging snowstorm, but that could wait for later.

Matt did not answer and he looked relieved as L and Near came in, saving him from having to tell Mello about Risa's condition.

Both L and Near took seats beside Mello's bed, L held the blond's hands and asked, "How much do you remember?"

Mello answered truthfully, recalling as much as he could, "Well, a woman and two men tied me to the front seat of that truck and set it on auto towards the edge of a really high cliff. Then, Risa hacked off the rope and we both jumped. We headed in the direction that I thought would lead us back here… Then the blizzard struck and we hid in a cave. I passed out after that." He conveniently left out the part where they had kissed, though he remembered it quite vividly. L didn't need to know about that, nor Near… Especially not Near.

He finally spared a glance at the white-haired boy and was surprised to find his expression solemn. He was still emotionless as always, but harder than what Mello considered normal. You had to know Near really well to be able to tell but Mello had had many years of experience from picking on the boy so much.

"Well, rest assured Mello, we have already caught the people responsible for almost killing you and Risa." L told him, then stood up to leave. "Sorry, but I must depart right away for my next case. Both Matt and Near will stay here and keep you company until the doctors declare you ready to leave, which I believe to be in a couple of days."

Mello nodded, letting out a shaky breath. He didn't mind L going. If anything, he didn't want to get in the way of L solving cases.

"So then," He turned back to Matt, "As I was just asking… How is Risa?"

"Half of her vision, almost all of her hearing, four toes, one pinkie and one face that honestly put- I thought was beautiful." Near said out of nowhere, Mello turned to see the boy in white pajamas standing up and walking over, his teeth were gritted very tightly. "That's a list of the things that your foolishness cost her." Once Near reached Mello's bedside, he made a fist with his right hand, and swung it, slamming it into Mello's face- surprisingly hard.

Mello could have easily dodged the hit from the frailer and much smaller boy if he had wanted to, even with his body numb, but he was too shocked from hearing what Near had just told him…

"Wh-what do you mean?" Mello asked, uncertainty and dread filling his voice. There was no way… Sure she was weak, but it shouldn't be that severe… After all, he had gotten out of the incident without a scratch…

Near completely ignored Mello's question and started to rant, "I expected you to protect her Mello, honestly I did. Despite the fact that you have always been challenging and mean at Whammy's, I knew what you are capable of. I must admit that the blizzard wasn't part of my calculations but still; I thought you wouldn't let her get hurt… I trusted you…"

"WOULD SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO RISA?" He yelled; he was looking more at Matt than Near because he couldn't take those gray eyes staring daggers at him. An emotionless person suddenly raising his voice in anger at you can be very scary.

Matt stood up from his seat and went between Near and Mello, lightly signaling for Near to exit the room. When Near either didn't catch the drift or just plain chose to ignore it, Matt hissed, "Look, if you're going to be mad at Mel, at least do it when he gets what you're mad at him for!!"

Near went out realizing that Matt was right and that he was letting his emotions get the better of him. Twirling his hair he went out the door, but not before giving Mello one last look. Mello had never thought that Near could possibly look like he did for those short few seconds. All his life he had been trying to provoke emotions from the boy, but he had always failed miserably. This time he had succeeded, though he wasn't as happy as he had imagined he would be or happy at all.

"So?" Mello asked Matt expectantly once Near had left.

Matt handed Mello a chocolate bar before he started talking. His friend would have to be very calm to not go into hysterics after hearing what he was about to tell him. "Risa is now half blind and deaf…" He thought that this was a nice way to start the conversation, but apparently he was wrong.

"Are you kidding me?" Mello yelled, "How the hell can that be true?"

"It is." Matt stated impatiently, "Also, she has a permanent scar on her face. We have no idea _how_ she got the deep gash, but its been frozen and if she doesn't do plastic surgery, I don't think she'll be able to find a boyfriend…" Matt made a poor attempt at a joke, but it just made Mello even more frustrated than before.

"Be prepared because this next part is really unbelievable. Trust me." Matt warned. Mello took a bite of his chocolate bar, and Matt continued, "She saved you, Mello. Risa stayed conscious while you fainted and carried you all the way back here. Both of you would be dead out there if it weren't for her quick thinking…"

Mello looked at him for an explanation and Matt continued, "I myself still can't believe this actually happened but… She cut off her own _toes _and her pinkie to stop herself from getting frostbite and to keep herself awake. She carried you on her shoulder for two hours _straight_ through a blizzard _in a sweatshirt_. She put her jacket on you." Before Mello could start doing something in his frustration, Matt added, "The weirdest part about the whole situation was that when we found her and you outside the resort, she was continuously muttering words even though she was clearly already unconscious."

"What words?" Mello managed to croak out somehow.

"She was chanting 'Sorry L, I broke the promise. Even if I die, I still want Mello to live. The only way to have that happen is to let Riku take over.' Whatever that's supposed to mean… Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this, but she just barely got out of critical condition yesterday…"

Mello choked on his chocolate and lay back down on his bed, hiding his face under the covers, telling Matt that he could leave now. Matt obeyed, he could tell that his friend was trying to act strong though he very obviously hadn't taken the news very well.

Mello understood now, he understood just fine. He knew exactly why Near had been so angry with him. In fact, he was angry enough at himself to just jump off a building right now, if not for the fact that that would be wasting the life that Risa had saved.

Risa had saved him. Mello still found it hard to believe, just how had she done it? But then, even as he thought that, he realized she had a lot of secrets he didn't know about... For a good example, how had she caught that knife?

Near was sitting just outside Risa's room, now that the emotion of anger had gone away, he was only left with an emptiness and sadness to fill that emptiness.

Visitors weren't allowed because Risa was in a feeble state. She wasn't even conscious so there was no point in going inside anyway, but Near thought differently, he wanted to see her, if only to check that she was still alive…

_January 27__th_

The blizzard had finally pulled over minutes before and Near was both anxious and relieved. He didn't know why, but he expected Mello and Risa to survive; it wasn't hope or delusion, it was intuition, and his intuition was almost never wrong.

None of them however expected for Watari to exclaim out of one of the speakers that Risa had shown up on camera. She was just outside the resort.

L, Near, and Matt rushed out and Risa collapsed as soon as she saw them. Near could make out Mello's figure slouched over her back, wearing _two_ jackets. He showed no reaction when he saw Risa's face, more or less completely smothered with blood, but deep down somewhere in his heart, he felt anger towards Mello boiling up, that and guilt, helplessness, as well as fear like he'd never felt before.

The best hospital in the vicinity was instantly informed of their newest patients and they were rushed there.

Near waited nervously outside of the emergency room with Matt, who was playing his NDS but without his usual fervor. Near understood that Matt was just pressing button rapidly to cope but could he turn the volume down? L bit his thumb and waited for the doctor to come out and tell them the results.

Finally, the wait was over and the doctor came out, ready to inform them of Mello and Risa's conditions. "The boy will be fine, though probably unconscious for a couple more days because he has slight hypothermia and frostbite…" Matt cheered at this.

"What about the girl?" L asked the question that Near dreaded without a shred of emotion.

"We're truly sorry but I'm afraid we cannot say whether or not she will live yet…" The doctor said bowing his head, "It's all up to how strong she is…"

Near almost broke down right then and there from hearing those words, but he somehow managed to keep his composure, at least until he got into his assigned room. That was when he started crying.

It didn't help his situation to cry. It wouldn't help Risa live past this. Still, it did relieve his stress… So the short albino continued to cry until his eyes were completely and utterly dry.

That was the first night that The Nightmare visited him…

The following couple of days, he had the exact same nightmare and every time he felt as if it was like a vision, getting closer and closer to coming true.

The vision was of a blood stained Risa, looking at him with eyes that screamed murder. Dark red eyes that pulled at his soul…

He didn't understand what this vision meant, but he was most definitely scared of it.

Even after he'd found out Risa was going to live through this, he continued to have The Nightmare.

**End Note: I don't have much to say, just review pls… Oh! I'm hinting at something to do with the end!!!  
**


	11. Valentines Chocolate

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE FOR THE LAST TIME!**

**AN: I'm sorry if you are disappointed with this chapter, I sure am... How should I put this? I have two tests to study for, french homework, science project, health homework, _and_ I want to fit some anime time in, so... Yeah. Hope you understand. The next chapter will hopefully be better.**

Chapter Eleven: Valentines Chocolate

"Risa… You know, I really like you, right?" Near asked, his voice was wavering and he wondered if he should continue on. Then, deciding that he had to do this sooner or later, he added, "I hope you will take this."

That was the end of the conversation.

"Uh!" Near called out, falling backwards onto his bed in utter disgust at himself, hugging his teddy bear to his chest tight. It was six o'clock in the morning on Valentines Day and he was practicing how to give Risa chocolate. If he got nervous when she wasn't even _around_, he'd probably start stuttering when she was right in front of him. The normally calm and blank boy was not having an easy time getting the words right.

_Should I tell her "love" instead of just "like"? But, do I really? I mean… I thought love was only for stories, and that it happened to people who were… Older?_

Near was very confused by the feelings that were overwhelming his heart. Lately, he could never sleep because of The Nightmare and he had taken to just waking up early and going to bed late, sometimes even sneaking some sleeping pills for himself so he wouldn't have that dream again.

"What should I do, Mr. Panda?" Near squeaked out, holding the stuffed panda an arms length away and looking into the deep coal-black eyes that resembled L's so much.

Mello had actually been discharged from the hospital a whole week ago, but all three boys insisted they stay for Risa's sake. This was why Near found himself with only a toy panda and a teddy bear- they only had the bare necessities for life.

Near dangled his right leg off the side of the bed, still not sure what to say, remembering his visit to Risa's yesterday.

"_Hey, Near!" She had told him cheerily. She looked a lot healthier than when Near had first visited, and she could get up now. It would only be a couple of days before she would be allowed to leave the hospital and they would all go back to Whammy's._

"_Hi, Risa." Near replied, finding a seat in a visitor's chair. He looked at Risa sadly, half of her face was bandaged, the half where the scar was. She was considering getting surgery done, but wasn't certain yet, and besides, that had to wait until she had healed completely.  
_

"_I'm still not used to using hearing aids…" Risa muttered, whacking her ear to show her point. "But oh well! I'm still alive! If I ask for any more, I'd be greedy." She laughed, but then started coughing, Near stood up to help her, but she just shook her head and stopped coughing. When she looked up, there was still a huge smile on her face._

_Near had no idea what Risa thought was so funny. He felt that she should be sad from what that blizzard had cost her… Wouldn't anyone? Yet Near knew the answer to his own question. Risa wasn't just "anyone"…_

_After a while, Risa had even convinced him to stop hating Mello so much. She clearly stated that would only serve in depressing her further if he argued with Mello - this ended his hatred on the spot (he wasn't that good at being angry anyway). Mello obviously didn't mind and after a couple of weeks, they'd somewhat gotten over the punch Near had given.  
_

While Near was reminiscing in his own little world of memories and thoughts, Mello was also awake, and shaking up Matt too. The two boys were sharing a room, and though they each got their own beds, Matt still found it horrible how Mello would wake him up for the silliest of reasons in the morning.

"Mmm… Let me sleep some more, Mel." Ever since that time when Near had hit Mello, Matt had gotten used to calling his friend "Mel". Where the name came from and why exactly it had popped into his head was anybody's guess.

"Matt, first off, stop calling me that nick name, second, GET THE HELL UP!" Mello wasn't exactly in the best of moods that morning.

Matt grumbled, but obeyed. He always listened to what Mello had to say, despite the fact that most of the time, it wasn't as urgent as his dramatic friend would make it sound. The fact that he knew Mello wouldn't hesitate to drag him off the bed helped him get up faster.

"What is it?" The redhead asked, messing up his hair, and searching for where he had put his striped shirt.

"Well…" Mello found himself kind of embarrassed about saying this, but he knew that he could always just murder his best friend if he dared laugh at this. With that in mind, he said, "I really need help. What do you say when you give a girl chocolate on Valentines Day?"

"What the-" Matt started, he was about to start rolling on the ground when a sudden image of Mello choking him to death flashed in his mind and he was serious in a matter of seconds. He was too young to die, there were too many video games he had yet to play! "Aren't _girls_ supposed to give _boys_ the chocolate?"

"Well, uh…" Mello didn't know how to respond to that. The thought honestly hadn't crossed his mind before. All he remembered was that a lot of girls at Whammy's would suddenly come up and give him chocolate on this holiday…

"Oh well, doesn't matter, I suppose I could still teach you how if you really want to know." Matt said. Mentally he added: _Your blonde hair makes you look enough like a girl in the first place_. Besides, Matt had a couple of ideas that would make Mello _really_ angry if he ever found out Matt was behind it, and this was a good chance to test them out while seemingly being innocent.

Matt finally got changed and sat properly, face-to-face with Mello, trying to act serious. Apparently it worked, "Alright then, I will give you a half-hour lesson on how to give a girl chocolate on Valentines Day."

Outside, Near was just coming back from the washroom when he happened to overhear this conversation and he put his ear against the two boys' room with interest.

"Let's see… Well, first off, the chocolate itself is quite important- It has to fit with the person you're giving it to." Matt said professionally, a chocoholic like Mello ought to know thousands of brands of chocolate and would most certainly have a hard time picking one out for Risa.

Mello nodded, mentally noting this. Later on, he would spend hours making the right choice… "Continue."

Outside, Near's heart was beating slightly faster than normal. Here was his answer! All he had to do was listen to Matt and everything would go fine.

"Next up is the fact that normally you'd give a card with the chocolate. Mello, would you like to share with me what you had in your mind for the writing?" Matt asked, quite interested. He knew that Mello liked to keep things like this to himself, but he also knew that the blonde would feel insecure and end up telling Matt just in case there was something wrong anyway.

Mello did exactly what Matt predicted he would, he sighed and then told Matt, "I was going to apologize for that incident…"

Matt smacked his head in faint-frustration, "MEL! This is Valentines Day! You're supposed to write that you're madly in love with her or something! You don't need to remind her of her already horrible situation!"

"Uh…" Mello turned a shade of pink when Matt said the 'madly in love' part, and Matt thought that to be able to see his friend's face like this was almost worth waking up so early.

"Well, anyway, last but not least, there's something really important that you have to end the day with." Matt said, smiling. He had made up this last part completely on his own, but he knew that Mello was clueless on these things, and so he probably wouldn't be able to tell truth from lie anyway. "You always have to end Valentines Day with kissing the one you like."

Mello just stared at his best friend.

"I'm not joking!" Matt confirmed Mello's worst nightmare. Deep down inside, Matt was seriously breaking a couple of ribs to keep himself from bursting out laughing hard. But a joke was a joke and he had to carry it on until the end!

Near, who was outside stopped mentally celebrating as soon as he had heard this. This would most certainly be… Difficult. But Near had never bowed down before difficult tasks before, so he wouldn't this time either!

After dinner that night, both Near and Mello went to visit Risa. Matt decided he wouldn't because… Well sure he wanted to see how it would work out; but it still wasn't worth risking his life…

Both Near and Mello were surprised to see each other carrying a box of chocolate to Risa's room at the same time, but they both knew exactly what the other was doing with the chocolate.

Before they could break out in an argument, or Mello could at least kick Near once, Risa pulled the door open and invited them in. She was quite steady on her feet now, and seemed really exited to have them over.

"H-Happy Valentines Day." Near stuttered nervously, planning to hand the box of chocolate over when Mello _accidentally_ tripped him and sent him and the box of chocolate flying off into some corner.

Mello stepped in front of Risa and gave her his box of chocolate, not looking at her straight because his cheeks felt warm and he knew that he was blushing. Unfortunately, due to this, he didn't see that the person who actually received the chocolate was Near, who had picked himself up.

Feeling angry that Mello had ruined his chocolate, he did the first thing that came to mind- Throw Mello's chocolate out the open window in Risa's room.

Mello howled in rage! What a waste of chocolate! His _Valentine's_ chocolate at that!

"How dare you?" He hollered at Near, his eyes in slits, he grabbed the boy by his collar.

"You started it." Near stated, with a calm, implacable look on his face.

"Calm down!" Risa called from the sidelines and both Near and Mello turned to look at her. "Don't fight over spilt chocolate!" She insisted and they both managed to calm down enough to sit down in chairs without ripping the others head off.

"B-But… that chocolate was for you…" Near mumbled.

"Now what am I supposed to give you for Valentines Day?" Mello skulked unhappily.

Risa scratched her head and smiled, "You two are silly! You don't have to do anything for me. On Valentines, _girls _are supposed to give chocolate to _boys_. I honestly don't know what you were thinking…"

Mello cursed Matt under his breath for not telling him this earlier. Actually, the redhead had, Mello just hadn't listened.

"Well anyway, I made you both some special chocolate!" Risa exclaimed happily, "Well, no, I didn't actually make them, I suck at cooking but… I did order for them to be specially made, which is somewhat close enough." (NOTE: The cookies on Christmas had been made with help from the kitchen staff.)

She went and rummaged in a shelf, then satisfied that she had found what she was looking for, she handed four chocolates each to Near and Mello.

The chocolates were shaped like the heads of Near, Mello, Matt, and Risa. Honestly, she had wanted to have an L too, but there hadn't been enough time, so the four children it had to be!

Both Mello and Near took a deep breath each and did the exact same thing at the exact same time, surprising Risa out of her wits. Mello kissed her right cheek and Near kissed her left. Both of them looked angrily over at the other, as if accusing "Don't copy me!"

This was how the visit ended.

Surprisingly, both Near and Mello actually thought pretty similar. They did the exact same things with their chocolates:

Near ate the Mello-chocolate he'd gotten and Mello ate the Near-chocolate too as soon as they got out of Risa's room. They knew they were acting childish, but they did it anyway.

Then, they had given both their Matt-chocolates to Matt, allowing him to do whatever he wished with it. Matt accepted it happily and nibbled on the mini version of his own goggles (which were on top of the mini version of his head).

They both wrapped up their own and Risa's chocolate-selves in some type of foil and made sure it was in the right temperature to not melt.

This was a very interesting Valentines Day indeed…

**End Note: Seriously, this is way worse than my normal writing... Oh well, review anyway pls!! I LUV REVIEWS!  
**


	12. Meet Noah

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Disclaim, disclaim, and disclaim some more… Don't own, the day I _do_ own Death Note will be the end of the world or something, so yeah… Since we're not all incinerated by the sun yet- I DON'T OWN!**

**AN: Ok, so this chapter is basically boring and introducing a new OC character. Read anyway please. This OC character will end up pretty important in later chapters.  
**

Chapter Twelve: Meet Noah

Risa, Mello, Matt, and Near exited from the van that Roger had been so kind to escort them back in. Risa was finally fully healed, or at least as healed as she'd ever be, and they could leave the hospital now. Near was relieved because he believed that maybe it had been the hospital giving him The Nightmare and that it might stop once he arrived back in familiar territory.

All the children in Whammy's crowded around them as they made their way back to their rooms. Most of them were interested in why Risa looked the way she did (half of her face was bandaged), but Mello caught snippets of conversations and he didn't like what he heard.

"Hey, you think Near will become number one again after this?" One child asked.

"I'm not sure… All things considered, I think Noah is smarter, not to mention he's _way _more social than Near and older too." A voice Mello didn't recognize answered the first.

Who was this Noah? Mello never really paid attention to the people in the list underneath him, but he certainly didn't remember someone named Noah in the top-ten. Perhaps this Noah was new? If so, then Mello would sure show him who was boss around this place!

After unpacking the few possessions they had in their rooms, they did different things. Near and Risa went down to the common room to take up their usual routine with Risa talking non-stop and Near playing with his puzzle; Matt chose to stay in his room and play with his X-box, which he missed oh so sincerely; Mello on the other hand chose to preoccupy himself with finding out who this Noah was, but not before he took several chocolate bars from his room.

They were lucky that it was Sunday with no school. They were most certainly tired from the three-hour drive back and all needed their rest.

The first place Mello looked for information on Noah was the scoreboard. Sure he had expected some other people to take up their places while they were gone, but he did not expect Noah's score to be so high. Especially not since he still didn't get who the hell this Noah guy was!

Munching thoughtfully on his chocolate, Mello proceeded to the library. Maybe Noah was one of those kids who studied all the time and was basically absorbed in their own little world. Of course Mello thought this was unlikely because he'd heard one of the kids say that Noah was social. But then again, their exact words were "way more social than Near", and in Mello's opinion, practically every single human on Earth fit that description…

When Mello entered the library, he realized that he had a problem- how was he supposed to tell which kid was Noah when the library was close to packed? A lot of kids at Whammy enjoyed staying at the library on the weekends, either to work on projects or simply because they liked the silence, and Mello had no idea what the names of half these children were.

"Mello!" A short girl with her hair tied in two pigtails came up and tapped the blond on the shoulder. Mello turned to look at her, it was just Linda, one of the most annoying girls at Whammy's. She was the one responsible for always telling on the teacher when he picked on Near. Now that Mello thought of it, he hadn't really seen her for a couple of months now because he hadn't been teasing Near…

Mello grumbled something unintelligible and then rethinking it, he decided that Linda might as well be his source of information. "So I've been hearing about this Noah guy… Who the hell is he?" Mello asked rather straightforwardly.

Linda looked at him weirdly, and then shook her head, explaining, "Oh yeah, I just remembered, you weren't here for the past few weeks, were you? Well then, um… I guess if I were to describe Noah, I would say that he is definitely something. He took the place of first after he came here a couple of days after you guys left, and has stayed permanently at that spot since. Here's a drawing of him."

_Linda's talent of drawing paid off for once,_ Mello thought to himself. He looked at the lightly sketched figure on a page in Linda's sketchpad, and took another bite out of his chocolate bar. "How old is he?" Mello wondered out loud. He could tell from the picture that Noah was a teenager, but still couldn't manage to accurately assess the age.

"Oh, he's fourteen." Linda answered without thinking.

Mello nodded, wondering if it was odd for him to take interest in someone like this. There was just something about Noah (from what Mello knew of him so far) that made Mello feel very, _very_ threatened. But there was just no way Noah was good enough to beat him, right?

The common room was empty except for the albino boy working on a blank puzzle in the middle and the talkative girl standing next to him making exaggerating hand gestures while telling him a story. Neither of them noticed when a third person came in.

This was partly because they were both immersed in what they were doing and partly because the person that joined them pressed and melted into the shadows and seemed as if he were invisible. Not even his presence could be sensed (NOTE: That person was not a ninja).

Risa finished her story with a bow just for show, and very unexpectedly, clapping came from a corner of the room. Both Near and Risa turned their attention to where the sound had come from instantaneously.

The boy that had been silently watching them in the shadows the whole time finally came out. There was a smile on his face, and his eyes had a happy sparkle of light to them that both Near and Risa noticed despite the fact that long bright auburn hair was almost completely covering the boy's eyes. The boy was older than them, which was obvious from his height and voice, Near mentally estimated that he was around fourteen years old. (Another victory over Mello, who couldn't tell!)

Risa made a nervous sound and put her hands behind her back shyly; she hadn't expected someone to be watching that whole ridiculous gig she'd just pulled! She could most definitely be open around Near, because the boy was so indifferent, but anyone else was a whole other story! Well, maybe Mello…

"Don't worry about it, I found that quite entertaining and won't tell a soul if you don't want me to." The boy said, smiling and showing his shining white teeth. "But I have no idea why you would want to hide your talent at storytelling… Oh yes, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Noah, and I am new here at this orphanage. I believe we did not meet since you had to 'go somewhere' about two days before I arrived." Noah didn't sound threatening or teasing at all, and Risa loosened up slightly.

"Well, my n-name is Risa a-and this is Near." She stuttered out quietly. Her face was still red out of embarrassment and her voice sounded faint, as was always the case when she didn't feel completely comfortable with the person she was speaking to.

Near did not say anything, he merely went back to his puzzle. Risa thought she caught a slight furrow of Noah's brows, but it came and went really fast, so she couldn't be sure. Just in case, she hurriedly explained, "Near's listening, he just likes to do something while he's listening."

Noah nodded, seemingly understanding. "I believe Near is the top at this orphanage?" He asked, raising a questioning look at the boy.

"Yes." Near said simply, he knew that Noah was addressing him.

"Well, I would quite like to be L and so we shall be rivals from now on." Noah said, his perfect smile unwavering, "Though I am sure this doesn't mean we can't be friends outside of the competition. Right?"

Near didn't answer, he merely gave a brief and very light nod.

Noah positioned himself on the floor a couple of feet away from Near and took out a Rubik's cube and started fooling around with it. Then, seeing that Risa was too nervous to start a new story again and that the silence was getting awkward, he told them, "Born in 1944 in Budapest, Hungary, Erno Rubik was the son of a mechanical engineer (his father) and a poet and artist (his mother). The idea of merging the worlds of engineering and art fascinated the young Rubik. After obtaining his degree in architecture at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest, he became a professor in the department of interior design. It was there, in 1974, that Rubik began the preliminary work that would lead to the invention of the "Magic Cube," as he called it."

Risa looked at Noah with new respect in her eyes, and started asking him questions about all sorts of things. Eventually, at the end of the day, she was already happily chatting with him about whatever was on her mind.

The whole time, Near stayed silent. He did not show the occasional smile he would show around Risa. Not even once.

The following week passed in really fast and wherever Risa went, Noah seemed to always follow. Some girls were jealous of this, but then they took one look at Risa's condition and dismissed it as pure pity. Both Mello and Near however sensed that it was something more. Risa told them that they were both just being silly; Noah had no reason to stalk her… Or did he?

She didn't give it that much thought, it was fun having a new friend, even if he was close to twice her age.

Then, the following Monday, Mello screamed in frustration and hit Matt hard on the head. Matt, quite annoyed, asked his friend, "What was that for?" as he continued to play New Mario Bros.

As usual, Mello had been checking the scoreboard, expecting for him and Near to go back to being first and second. What he saw truly frustrated him and if it weren't for the fact that he conveniently had a chocolate bar with him at the moment, he would probably be gruesomely murdering the redhead.

Near was still first like usual, but in the space beneath his name… was Noah. Mello had been pushed to third and Matt fourth! Mello couldn't believe his eyes at all.

_A fluke. That was it, one giant fluke. It must have been due to stress. IT MUST HAVE! _Mello screamed in his mind.

Matt didn't really care that he had been pushed to fourth. What he _did_ mind though was Mello being third. If Mello was violent when he was second, then wouldn't becoming third make his friend a psychopathic mass murderer?

(AN: For those who noticed, I just described Light.)

At the back of the crowd, because no matter how much they tried, they couldn't squeeze to the front, were Near and Risa. Near wasn't surprised at the results at all, but he could tell that Mello was from the loud "Ow" s coming from Matt close to the board.

Risa turned, and found Noah right where she expected him to be- behind her. The stalking thing wasn't really annoying her, just getting on her nerves _slightly_. "Congrats!" She told him.

Noah didn't look as content as Risa had thought he would, instead he just shook his head, "Guess I need to study more to beat the first at Whammy's, eh? This place really is different from my old schools. Here, I actually have a worthy rival…"

"For now, I think you have something else to worry about." Near stated, as he saw Mello wade angrily threw the crowd, throwing kids left and right in their direction. Risa's eyes widened in surprise and horror.

**End Note: Review please! Also, I think I'm getting close to the ending, but this could just be a false alarm in my head!**


	13. Puzzle In Place

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note because as you can see, the world has not been sucked in by a black hole yet.**

**AN: I really am getting closer to the climax and the end… Sorry if it's not what you expect. I'll tell you this right now: It won't be a happy ending. As always, R&R!  
**

Chapter Thirteen: Puzzle In Place

Mello stopped in front of Noah and looked up at the older person who had taken over _his _rightful place with resentment and anger in his eyes. The blond opened his mouth to swear a chain of words and maybe even swing his fist, but then stopped himself just in time.

_It was just a fluke. Near was always first and he was always second. There was no way anybody could change that- No way at all._

While repeating this over and over in his head like a mantra, Mello took a bite out of his chocolate bar and grumbled out, "You aren't stupid after all." It wasn't a compliment, but at least it was better than what he had been planning to do.

Matt watched Mello, quite confused. Why wasn't his friend beating the hell out of Noah? Not that Matt cared much, he just felt uneasy about Mello's unusual behavior.

Both Near and Risa were just as confused as Matt, though Risa was relieved instead of unnerved. As for Near, no one could tell.

Noah nodded his head a couple of times to acknowledge that Mello was there, but didn't pay too much attention to the blond. Mello almost lost his temper and swung a fist anyway, but then his mantra was repeated again and he calmed down. _By next week, it'll all be normal and the way it should be again._

Risa was unaware of the tense situation. All she knew was that Mello wasn't beating Noah up for being better than him, and that was honestly all that mattered to her. "You guys are all so smart, I have no idea why you even hang out with me… I _am_ grateful for it though." She said nonchalantly, she honestly didn't mean anything by the sentence.

Noah however took personal interest in this. He had yet to realize that Risa was last in the whole Whammy's house. When he did realize, his curiosity was overwhelming and he just had to ask, "How did you pass the test with your grades now?"

Risa looked at him blankly like he was talking nonsense, "What test?"

Mello, Near, and Matt (though only slightly) were all shocked; they hadn't thought that Risa had never gone through the test before! Now that they thought about it, it was so obvious; they had simply chose to ignore the fact. There was no way Risa could complete the Whammy House test that deemed her smart enough to come to this gifted orphanage…

"Why are you here then?" Noah asked, not unkindly, nor meanly, he sounded like he was simply interested in the answer.

Risa looked at him and she frowned momentarily, _how was she going to get herself out of this jam?_

Noah noticed the frown and was even more thoughtful than before. She must really be someone special to be here, but it appeared she wasn't talented at anything in particular… Then perhaps there was some secret the boys and L were keeping that he didn't know?

He assessed the boys that were once the top three and shook his head; no, they knew as little about the reason why Risa was here as he did. Though he wasn't really sure about Near…

Noah excelled in psychology, and could practically read the thoughts of anyone in any given situation as long as he was allowed a certain time to study them. He had been orphaned lately when a serial killer had murdered his parents, and he had stood watching the gruesome sight.

He could read exactly what the killer was thinking, he _knew_. He understood the killer's motives and he actually _agreed_ with it. This scared Noah, sure he hadn't always been the "perfect child", but he had always tried hard and was relatively certain that his thinking should not be the same as the guy who killed his parents'.

Near however, was seriously creeping him out.

Noah had never been particularly grateful for his gift; it was just matter-of-fact. He had been born with it and had learned to accept it. In certain times, he had even found it useful to know what others wanted or were thinking before they actually opened their mouth to talk.

Now however, at Whammy's, he was finding that he felt insecure and _threatened_ by this boy with no emotions. Near was the colour of purest snow, unreadable, _untouchable_, forever out of Noah's reach. Noah was afraid of this boy, and what he was afraid of, he sought to destroy.

Risa's voice broke Noah out of his chain of thought, "Hello, Noah? You still listening?"

"Yeah." He answered back, noticing that they needed to be on their way to class now. In fact, Mello and Matt were already gone.

Near stood there, emotionless, staring, and waiting… At first Noah was puzzled and didn't understand what exactly the white-haired albino that sent shivers down his spine was waiting _for_. Was Near waiting for him?

The answer turned out to be no, because when Risa headed off in the direction of their first class that morning (which just happened to be the same despite their age difference), Near followed.

Noah had just noticed something that he thought was quite useful… It seemed that this "number one" boy at Whammy's was quite fond of this rather strange and intriguing girl. He had stalked (AHA, HE ADMITS IT!) Risa so far because he'd been interested in her injuries, but it was just now that it clicked in his mind how she was always with Near. To a certain extent, Noah was glad of his realizations this day, but on the other hand, none of these thoughts would help at all for him achieving his goal.

To become L.

The reason Noah had was not what most would think and not what he had told Roger; in truth, he couldn't care less about the fact that his parents had been murdered. His actual reason was much more understandable in his opinion.

Noah wanted to become L, so he could observe and learn more. More than anything, he wanted to know _why_ criminals killed, _how_ fair judgment was exactly, and _if_ what the world thought was right was actually right.

He needed answers, lots of them. And if being L helped him get those answers, then he would most definitely do just that, no matter who or what stood in his way.

The first step was to beat Near, and Noah was determined, with lots of plans racing through his head, to do it.

Over the next couple of days, Noah observed Risa very closely, noting how her behavior was rather _boring_. She seemed to be normal enough and didn't look like she was pulling on an act at all.

On Thursday, after school had ended, and Noah, Risa and Near were walking around the school for no particular reason, Noah brought up a subject that he thought might make Risa reveal what was so special about her. "What do you think of the death of criminals? Are you against or for all the criminals dying?"

Noah didn't expect Near to answer, and the pale boy didn't exceed his expectations. Risa however, was a lot more thoughtful on this subject than he had predicted.

"Lives are lives, you know? People have done things, _bad_ things in their life. It's human nature. If none of us can learn to forgive and forget, then trust me, this world would have one hell of a small population of humans. Yes, some people have killed others and think they hold more power, and they all think they're so special. But in the end, it all comes down to the fact that more often than not, they have a reason for what they do. Anyway, the old saying goes 'a life for a life'. Honestly, if people think that way in reality, this world would be one messed up place. Besides, even criminals have people who will mourn for them after their death and that would just cause more and more hatred to build up. In the end, it would probably be released through more killing." As she said this, Risa looked upset and her eye (the one that wasn't bandaged) was glazed as if she were actually seeing something in her past concerning this issue.

For the rest of that day, Noah was very thoughtful indeed. He could see a puzzle forming in his mind and he _would_ find a way to fit all the pieces in.

Over the next couple of weeks, Mello was seriously freaked out by the fact that not only did he keep on being third, Noah actually occasionally pushed up to be first. Noah was challenging Near like _he _himself had never been able to!

Mello couldn't help the fact that a lot of stress was building up on him. Not even Matt could be his punching bag now because he found himself getting way more violent than before and didn't want to permanently disfigure his friend.

It was purely involuntary that he found himself sending a kick straight at Noah's face during a soccer match at recess.

Noah said nothing; he had been expecting the kick for weeks now. He had watched the signs of Mello's anger being forcefully suppressed, and then finally, the explosion. Mello didn't interest him as Risa and Near did, the blond was too easy to read, and _way_ too emotional.

Since Noah had been expecting it, it really wasn't too hard for him to simply catch the kick and twist Mello's leg so the boy fell to the ground. Kids rushed over left and right to see what was going on.

Mello, so as to not lose face, obviously couldn't run off in this situation. So he stood and fought, like he thought any man should (though he doesn't necessarily qualify as a _man,_ being only ten). He fought with all the strength he had, but found Noah turning his impatience and frustration against him and eventually he fell to the ground and didn't get up again.

Noah could tell that the boy was tired; not that he cared much. For all he was bothered with, Mello could just disappear off the face of the Earth, as long as he stopped getting in the way of his thinking! Just as Noah was about to give Mello a nasty blow to remind him not to mess with him again, there was a scream from the other side of the school.

Both Mello and Noah rushed towards to sound without a second thought, which confused the whole crowd. Hadn't they been fighting only two seconds ago?

They both recognized the voice- it was Risa.

"S-Seriously, you don't know what you're doing." Risa warned, her throat dry, "Please give it b-back." Horror filled her eyes and she was close to begging. In fact, tears were already flowing down to her chin.

A group of older girls stood in front of her, one of them playing with her precious knife in a way that showed utter distaste. Risa knew for a fact that these girls wanted to break her most treasured possession.

One of the girls had somehow found out that her knife was more important than her life for Risa, and they were now using that knowledge to its full potential. All of these girls had been very upset about Risa, the most stupid kid around the school getting so much attention from Noah, who wouldn't even spare them a second glance!

Now they were happily getting their revenge on her. The leader of the group of girls, and the one with the knife, asked with a venomous voice, "Do you know why you're here?"

"I want my knife back!" Risa squealed, struggling against the hold from two other girls.

The leader proceeded as if she had never heard Risa at all. She said, "You take too much time away from Noah. All of us are sick of you being the charity case, how long does it take for your face to heal anyway?" She was referring to the half of Risa's face that was still bandaged. The bandage would probably stay there for the rest of Risa's life, but of course the girls didn't know that.

Another member of the group started pulling on her hair, and hissing insults. Risa didn't understand why these people wanted Noah's attention so much, but that didn't matter. She needed to get that knife back!

Just as she thought this, the leader took hold of the knife and easily yanked out the tweezers from it.

(AN: Recap, it's a Swiss Army Knife, so yes, there are tweezers inside.)

Risa screamed.

Noah and Mello both rushed into the alleyway. The scene they saw immensely frightened them. Risa was there, holding her precious knife, the bandage on her face had been removed, and six girls lay unconscious at her feet.

Risa looked up at them, still fitting the tweezers in. It was actually Riku who spoke these next words just like the first time, "Death to all." The same fiery hatred burned in her eyes, and it was enough to make anyone take a step back.

Mello's breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the scar that he had yet to see on Risa's face. It was horrible! (I will not go into descriptions, merely use your imagination…)

Noah on the other hand, was slowly feeling a puzzle piece slide and fit into place. He was one step closer to finding out Risa's secret…

One step closer to Near's demise…

One step closer to becoming L…

Very soon, he, Noah, would solve this puzzle.

**End Note: I wonder what you thought of this chapter… Hmmm… Please review!! Also, just a reminder: I won't update on weekends.**


	14. Seed of Doubt

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: As always, Death isn't mine, I wish it were with all my heart, and… Nothing. Nope. Still got nothing.**

**AN: I AM FINALLY BACK FROM THE DEAD AND POSTING AGAIN! Just joking, I haven't died or anything as dramatic as that… I just had writer's block and then a lot of stuff to do and that's why I didn't post for a long, _long _time. Before I posted this I had another chapter fourteen but I had to completely rewrite that… Excuses! But the point is that I'm back now and ready to finish this thing soon, so yeah, R&R (I hope my old readers haven't abandoned me yet, SOOOOWWWWEEEE!) please! Oh yeah, just so you know, I edited all my previous chapters too, nothing's changed in the actual storyline but the grammar and spelling is better (there was like one mistake per sentence or something!)  
**

Chapter Fourteen: Seed of Doubt

Roger was scared, he was also angry, but fear was the emotion that was overriding all others at this particular moment. He had just been notified of what had happened with Risa, and was panicking, waiting for L to reply back to his emergency message. He'd known since the very beginning that something was strange and just plain _not right_ with Risa, but since most of the time (due to the promise with L) she acted normal, shy, and not about to suddenly start knocking people out, he had let that thought slip to the back of his mind. As he sat in his desk, waiting patiently for L's contact and staring into the deep dark red eyes that reminded him so much of B, the emotion that made him numb was most definitely fear. He was regretting not taking Risa as a serious threat very, _very _much.

Minutes ago, Noah and Mello had reported the incident and dragged the unconscious girls into the infirmary, leaving Risa (or Riku, as she was called in her current state), face now bandaged once more, with Roger in his office.

Despite the fact that all signs of danger were now gone, and every second she was in control was another second that Risa was going back on her promise, Riku still decided to stay "awake". There was something she needed to discuss with L, and Risa could not do it for her.

Finally after five more minutes of tense silence in the office and a hell lot of sweating done by Roger, the letter L showed up on the laptop screen and the familiar filtered voice asked, "Roger, what appears to be the problem?"

Instantly taking over the conversation, Riku declared without a shred of emotion, "I am."

L understood immediately because even though normal people might have trouble distinguishing between Risa and Riku's voices, he could tell without a second thought. He merely sighed, disappointed that this had happened far sooner than he had mentally calculated. "Explain the situation please." He said.

Roger opened his mouth to start the explanation, but Riku raised her hand and cut him off, "Six girls stole my knife and was about to destroy it, so I knocked them all out. Rest assured, they won't have any particularly terrible injuries; Risa was already guilty enough with just me coming out at all."

"So?" L asked.

"So what?" Riku asked in return.

"Why are you still in control, Riku? The situation is over, isn't it?" Not a trace of it could be detected in his voice, but on the other end of the connection, L was mentally praying that Riku wasn't about to rebel, suddenly go on a killing spree, or something like that. He knew that she was perfectly capable and ready to go to the extremes. Fortunately, Risa would never allow that, but what if this situation had changed her mind? Then he would possibly be forced to be the detective in charge of hunting her down. He did not want that.

"Yes the situation is over, but there is another that has yet to start, and I need you to take care of it before it does."

"What?"

"Mello and Noah both saw me."

"…"

"L, I know that you know they are both very curious individuals, and obviously smarter than the average person. I am almost one hundred percent certain that they are going to practically interrogate Risa day and night about this incident so I am asking you to do something. There is always the chance that she could let something slip." Riku said, voice not wavering for a second, and eyes looking straight at Roger even though she was speaking to L (she apparently didn't like looking at the computer screen).

After a slight pause, L answered with certainty, "I will have a private talk with them, right after you leave the office. Now then, can you let Risa take over again?"

Suddenly the eyes staring intently at Roger (and succeeding in freaking him out) softened, changing to an orangey-brown and looked down to avoid his gaze. Risa was back again and he was relieved.

So the situation was resolved just like that. Risa got off with no punishment, just a strict warning that she was _not_ to pull a stunt like that ever again, her knife seriously needed to be taken care of better if it was so important, and Mello as well as Noah were called to the office right after. They raised their eyebrows when Risa told them that Roger and L wanted to talk to them now.

While they went to the office, she headed off to find Near.

In the office, L started off the conversation by questioning, "Can you recount all that you saw from the second you heard that scream?" This would help him determine how severe his warnings needed to be.

"We entered the alley and that's when we saw Risa standing there, the girls on the ground." Mello started. He wondered why L didn't dismiss this off as a normal fight (as if that were the case, he wouldn't have asked the witnesses to describe the scene, because he normally deducted that simply from what the culprit said), perhaps L knew something about Risa that would make him think that this fight was more important than normal?

He was going to continue but Noah cut him off, this made him very annoyed, especially upon remembering earlier events on the soccer field. Fortunately, on his way here, Matt had conveniently slipped him a chocolate bar, which he now bit down hard into. "Her face was un-bandaged and she was apparently fiddling with some sort of knife."

L was glad that none of the two had noticed Risa's sudden change; little did he know that they had both figured it out, Mello not saying it because he was still slightly shaken from seeing Riku, and Noah because he had a feeling that it would be harder for him to finish the puzzle and find out Risa's secret if he said it out loud now.

"You are not allowed to mention this incident to anyone or interrogate her about it." L ordered firmly, knowing that if the demand was from him, there would be a ninety-nine percent chance they'd follow it.

"Okay." They both answered, and were dismissed.

After Roger was certain that they had left (for children sometimes stayed to eavesdrop), he asked L, "Why did you let Risa get away with no punishment whatsoever, won't this just prompt her to do it again?"

"Because her knife being damaged was punishment enough. To her, it is literally equal to ripping out a piece of her soul."

Roger wondered how exactly L had been able to deduct the fact that her knife had been damaged through the story the boys had pieced together, but did not ask.

Right when Mello and Noah were talking with L in the office, Risa had found Near. The albino had yet to hear of the situation, and so Risa did not mention it. Near could sense something was wrong, because Risa was slightly shaky as she went through her story-telling routine and Noah wasn't behind her. He chose to not press the issue though, because he thought that Risa might cry if he did; her expression between a smile and a frown (her mouth was kind of like this: ~) certainly gave him that impression.

Near decided that he might as well take this chance and tell her, and said, "I don't trust Noah." There was no emotion in his voice, or his eyes, as he waited for Risa's reaction to this.

"Why not? He's really nice and understanding." Risa sounded uncertain though, because somewhere in the abyss of her mind, she remembered that Riku had once warned her about Noah too… There was something she had said; it was something like, "Too perfect." Risa muttered it aloud by accident.

Near was surprised, he hadn't expected carefree and kind Risa to notice a personality flaw, but she had. "Exactly," he said, "he's too perfect. He is most definitely holding something inside and people like that aren't safe to be around. I have a feeling that he's plotting something that involves you, so I thought that you should be warned. Apparently, you've already noticed it though." Near's eyes were trained on the stack of dice he was building, he'd gotten sick of puzzles lately, though he could not begin to guess for what reason (something to do with Noah using it to simulate the attempt at becoming L, perhaps?).

"Near!" Risa exclaimed exasperated, "He should at least get a chance. Noah can change, I know he can; anyone can if they try hard enough. Just give him a chance to see the true you and you could become really good friends." She had noticed how Near was ice-cold when Noah was anywhere close, and she wanted that problem resolved, now.

Near mentally sighed, he knew she was too good-hearted to believe him, but he'd thought that he might as well try to convince her anyway.

Now he was going to have to go with a plan that he dreaded making into reality, but it was for the best after all. Ever since he had met Noah that first time and looked into his pitch-black eyes, Near's gut instinct had been screaming at him that Noah was planning something – something sinister, something against him.

That in itself would have been perfectly acceptable and fine, because he was used to it after all. He actually had a ton of experience being hated thanks to a certain extremely violent chocolate-loving blond. The problem was that unlike Mello, Noah was _not _going to conveniently ignore Risa in this feud against Near.

Near knew for a fact that Mello cared just as much about Risa as he did, so there were no problems there, but if Noah ever used Risa as a threat, Near knew that his mask just might fall.

He just might end up giving in.

That couldn't happen, which was why he had thought up an intricate plan in order to completely make that possibility disappear. It pained his heart though, because he would have to make Risa cry, but Noah hurting her would be even worse.

After a couple of seconds of awkward silence in which Near was processing this thought, Risa started with her story telling again. At the very back of Risa's mind, where Riku dwelt, the seed of doubt began to sprout, and Noah was at the very center of that seed.

After they had left the office, Noah had meant to go look for Risa, but Mello blocked his path. He was dragged into the washroom and Mello got into a fighting stance, throwing the chocolate wrapper in some corner. "Out on the soccer field, that didn't count!" He hollered, eyes ablaze. He wanted to check on how Risa was doing but he needed to solve this problem first.

Noah frowned, annoyed. This was a complete waste of time for him, and he had no intention of wasting time. "I have better things to do than fight with you." He said, voice seeping with an emotion that was a cross between irritation and anger.

This did not serve to make Mello feel any better; no actually, it just made Mello angrier. This anger, as usual, exploded out of the younger boy in the form of none other than violence.

Mello howled and threw a fake kick, actually using his right elbow to perform a jab, Noah however wasn't to be fooled that easily and dodged it. Twisting Mello's right arm to a painful position, Noah spoke calmly and measured into his ear, "That's enough, isn't it? Now leave me alone."

Mello couldn't stand anybody looking down of him like that, he refused to be spoken to or treated as a five-years-old (because to him what Noah said was equal to "Come on, leave me alone and go play with your toys, I have other _adult_ stuff to tend to." Mello kicked Noah in the shin, spun around as quickly as he could, and aimed a hard right straight (punch) at Noah's chest.

Noah though he released Mello from the arm lock from the utter shock that the blond was still persisting, was not shocked enough to not notice the punch. He quickly pulled back out of Mello's range, grabbed the boy's arm, and flipped him, using a move from judo. If Mello had been the same age as Noah, he'd have had some chance of resisting the flip, unfortunately the difference in body mass made him fly all the way to the other side of the bathroom and bash his head into a wall. He was not unconscious, but he _was _dizzy and in pain.

With a simple "Humph." Noah exited the room, hating that he'd let his cool slip so easily. His façade needed to get better if he was going to fool Near - a lot better.

**End Note: I hope you enjoyed! ^_^ There's a couple more chapters until the end I think (and then I might do a sequel, not sure though)… Don't forget to review please!**


	15. I Love You, So Hate Me

Mello & Near's Idiot

Disclaimer: Do not own Death Note – what more can I say? -.-

AN: I'm sorry for not posting in a while… I was just really busy and stuff, and even now, I can't promise the rest of my posts will come regularly. Still, I hope you enjoy this update! Good news is that I think my writing skills have gotten better!

Chapter Fifteen: I love you, so hate me

"What are you doing here?" Mello exclaimed, shocked, entering his room after classes and finding a solitary pale figure hunched over on his bed playing with a stack of dice. Near almost never left the common room except to eat and sleep, not to mention Risa wasn't with him, which made the situation even stranger. "Where is she?" Mello looked all over his room, as if expected the younger girl to jump out and surprise him.

"With Noah." Near did not doubt for a second who Mello was asking about.

"What? Are you INSANE?! How can you leave her with that – that – psycho-maniac-jerk-idiot-Noah?" Mello said in a rush, his face now red because he was out of breath. He growled when Near didn't respond immediately to his question-of-sorts. Although he had learned to tolerate the albino boy lately, he still absolutely resented being ignored. He quickly grabbed a chocolate bar off a desk and began eating, breathing deeply at the same time.

Meanwhile, Near was nodding in his mind, agreeing with every adjective that Mello had used to describe Noah except for "idiot". Should Noah truly have been an idiot, Near wouldn't have to go through all the trouble he was about to go through. Still, Near was glad for Mello's outburst, because, not only did it make him feel slightly better, it also proved that Mello was indeed the right choice for Near's plan – he certainly cared for Risa enough.

"I'm glad you agree." Near mumbled after a while.

Mello frowned deeply, "So?! What are you doing here in my room? Explain now or get out!" He was _not_ in a good mood at all, and didn't want to murder Near, less Risa get upset at him for his actions.

With one swift movement, Near knocked the stack of eight dice he'd managed to stack up down. He made no attempt to stack it once more. Then, with a voice containing emotions that he had never realized he'd possessed, said, "Risa is in danger, I need you to take care of her while I cannot."

Mello looked at him with one eyebrow raised, the fog of anger that had been clouding his thoughts seconds ago disappearing to be replaced by pure confusion. "What?" He asked, unsure if he'd heard right.

"You'll understand my meaning soon enough. All I ask is that when the time comes, you will promise to understand what I've done and keep the truth from Risa for her own good." Near's voice was its usual monotone.

"Stop talking in riddles, dammit!" Mello followed this with consecutive swears which Near ignored. "Explain yourself!" His words fell on deaf ears though, as Near was already gathering his dice and heading for the door, apparently under the impression that Mello understood what he had just said, which was definitely not the case.

Mello was ready to throw something at the back of Near's head to get the boy to stop leaving, but was frozen on the spot by Near's last words. "Love equals pain and sacrifice, Mello. I have learned my lesson this time. You shall too, soon enough, if you haven't already." Both the words themselves and the tone they were said in shocked Mello to the core. Near sounded like he was about to cry. It was nothing like the tremendous anger that Near had shown when Risa had hardly gotten out of an ordeal alive, rather, it was a tone of silent rage, which was even scarier. Suppressed anger was far more dangerous because it was invisible until the explosion. It was almost as if Near was accepting something inevitable but still resenting it at the same time.

He sounded so lonely, so heartbroken, more so than Mello had ever seen or thought him capable of showing. Mello found it strange that a sudden thought crossed his mind, _Why are you telling me this? Do you trust me that much even after all the things I've done to you?_

"Near…" The unique rival turned not-quite-friend's name just barely left Mello's lips before the door was shut closed. Mello felt like it was too late to stop whatever Near's plan was. The last chance to stop it had passed the second the door had closed with a resounding _bam!_

Now all he could do was wait and see just what exactly Near wanted him to do.

Near headed for the kitchen, a little detour before he went back to the common room, where he was certain that Noah was striking up conversation with Risa, probably getting to know her thought process better. In the hallway, Near passed by Roger, who looked at him strangely. Near admitted that he was going out of his regular routine by visiting Mello but did Roger have to look _that_ astonished?

As soon as Roger entered his room, the mask of calm that was on his face broke and he rushed as fast as he could to the laptop. He quickly connected with Watari and asked the old man to let him speak to L. It was a "Code 1" emergency!

Once they were connected, the genius detective's voice asked, "What seems to be wrong?"

"I don't know exactly, but something definitely is wrong. I think Noah's involved in some way, but I can't be certain. I do know for a fact however that Near is upset to the point where, when I saw him in the hallways, he had his fists clenched and was actually openly showing anger on his face! I fear that something has gone terribly wrong."

"Calm down, Roger."

A couple of seconds of silence later, L added, "For now, you should probably just keep an eye on the kids. Report only when you can pinpoint the cause for your unease. As for Noah, he is indeed dangerous, but he, and only he, can prove to be a rival and enough stimulation to get Near to show reactions. Isn't that not what you yourself agreed to?"

"Yes, but it's different now! I don't know why but I have the feeling that lives are at stake here, the lives of these children which I've seen grow up one by one. I must put their lives before any other duty that could possibly be required of me."

"Very well then, I've always been one to follow hunches myself. Just wait for a little while, Roger. I will visit and get this issue all settled in two weeks, alright?"

Clearly relieved, Roger replied, "Yes… That would help very much, L."

Meanwhile, in the common room, Noah, just as Near suspected, was trying subtly to get Risa to reveal more things about herself.

"I apologize for the harm my fan girls could have caused you, I will be certain to scold them and threaten to ignore them for the rest of my time here."

"It's okay, Noah, I don't mind as long as it doesn't happen again."

"You're very forgiving, aren't you? I think that's a good virtue found in humans."

"What's a 'virtue'?"

Noah shrugged, "I don't know, just said it to sound smart." Risa laughed, a light laugh that sounded oddly forced. Noah frowned discreetly, Risa wasn't trusting him as much as he wanted her to. Somebody had definitely warned her about him, and he had a very good idea who that someone was.

Who else would be able to see through Noah's façade and wish Risa to keep the teenager from knowing too many of her secrets?

Just as Noah mused over this, the door to the common room opened to reveal Near with a crazy glint in his eyes. With accuracy that could only have been obtained from constant dart-throwing practise, he threw with precision three knives.

They were aimed straight at Noah. One at his head, one at his abdomen and one at his leg. Noah could not react in time due to the speed of the projectiles and the fact that his brain still could not comprehend Near's actions. He only caught one of the knives, the one aimed for his head, and his hand bled a deep gush of crimson from the cut it caused. Noah was only human after all.

Surprisingly though, the other two knives didn't manage to bury themselves in Noah's flesh either. Instead, Risa, or rather Riku, had caught both of them with both her hands in a flash.

"What's going on?" Risa asked, uncertain, looking at Near through dazed eyes. Why had he done that? Near did realize that Noah would have died of blood loss had Risa not intervened, right? "N-Near, tell me there's some reason for your actions…" she virtually begged. Stress accumulated from the past several days were showing its toll on her, as tears came unbidden to her eyes.

Noah, on the other hand, was not half as forgiving. After realizing how his had just barely survived, he let out a bestial growl and launched himself at Near. If the weaker albino boy wanted a fight to the death then so be it, he would grant the death wish.

Noah was about to swing a punch put was stopped by Risa's unbelievably firm hand. In fact, he could've sworn the girl's eyes flashed red as she used a judo technique and tossed him onto the floor, saying simply, "Stay away." If he had any doubt before, it was completely gone now. Risa had a split personality.

Risa, herself once more, and shaking, made her way slowly towards Near. She let go of the two knives in her hands and said, trembling, once she was only inches away from Near, "Please explain…"

Near felt something strange tug at his heart, but he had never experienced such a thing before so in this situation, he naturally chose to ignore it. "I regret nothing except for the fact that he is not dead." His words were said steadily, but the beating of his heart showed clearly that he was lying. Fortunately, Risa was in no mood to listen right now.

The slap came quick, but Near saw it coming. He did not however, dodge, as normal people would have done on instinct. It was loud, resounding through the room and left a throbbing red hand mark on his face.

"NEAR!" Risa screamed out, now dizzy. She didn't know what to think, or what to do. The very foundation of her life was falling apart. At the back of her mind, Riku whispered dangerously, _if you can't go on, let me…_

Not wanting to break her promise to L, or to face such an unknown Near anymore, she exited and ran to her room to calm down. On her way there, she passed a girl that she had seen around, and she thought was called Linda. Risa did not redirect the girl from heading straight for the common room because she herself was still too unstable.

"Don't you dare think is over, Near."

"Trust me, in no way is this over." Poison dripped from his words, "I'll make you pay for the pain I'm going through tenfold." Near felt like his heart had stopped beating, or that it had at the very least, been ripped into ribbons and thrown in the deep dark sea. Watching Risa leave, he just barely restrained his own urge to cry out her name and call her back. Even though everything was just going according to his plan, the cheerful little girl that had captured his heart being in any sort of pain at all due to him still made him feel more guilt than he could handle.

It was no longer up to him, Near had long decided that the job of helping Risa heal would be given to Mello. A voice at the back of his head still whispered that it wasn't too late to change the plan though.

But, just then, Linda entered and saw the scene.

It was too late now.

Within in two hours, there was not a single soul at Whammy's that did not know of the incident in the common room where Near had tried to take Noah's life. They all assumed that Near was jealous of Noah, and Risa was never mentioned. Roger thought so too. Though the older man was glad that his earlier paranoia had been correct, he still had another voice nagging at him that there was worse to come in the following days. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to make it through the time until L came to sort things out.

Noah was officially out for blood.

When Mello heard of the news, a quick intake of breath was followed by a mad dash to Risa's room.

He didn't even bother to take a chocolate bar with him.

End Note: I'm getting closer to the end, R&R!


	16. Hide and Seek

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Still do not own d (~.~) b**

**AN: I am sorry that this story is now in what I call the "jagged" stage, where I update once in an insanely long time. Honestly, I would try to help it if I could, but… I don't know how. It's just, tomorrow's the end of Winter Break and I was scrolling through my files. Just happened to see this story and _really_ wanted to type something for it.**

Chapter Sixteen: Hide-and-Seek

"Near, you [insert swear word] annoying, mindless fool!" Mello hissed in his own room, throwing a variety of things in all directions. When he was particularly irritated, he just couldn't keep still, and now, when he was _extremely_ irritated, and the one person he ached to throw something at was in solitary confinement, all he could do was continuously chomp on chocolate and swear profanities, "Did you _really_ believe what you did would _help_ the situation?!" There was a stupid migraine starting to bother him now, but Mello would not stop his rampage.

"Mello, maybe you should just try taking a chill pill?" Matt suggested, even though he knew he was risking his life. Seeing his friend like this was really messing his judgement up, as normally he wouldn't be caught dead saying a single thing except "have a chocolate bar" near an angry Mello.

"Why don't _you_ chill instead, HUH?" Mello screamed kicking his bed until it shook on its foundations, and then punching his pillow repeatedly like he had already done so many times – in fact, the feathers were beginning to seep out of the sides and it was barely recognizable anymore.

His thoughts were all fogged up and at the centre of it was one sentence being screamed over and over, "SHE SAVED MY LIFE AND YET I'M BEING SO USELESS!!!"

Matt's signature gaming systems were nowhere in sight, and he focused his goggle-covered eyes (just in case Mello started breaking glass and throwing - y'know, a teenager with an angsty best friend has gotta be prepared) solely on Mello. His brain spun rapidly, trying to think of better ideas to accomplish the mission of getting Mello to calm down and stop vandalizing Whammy House property. After two minutes of thinking, Matt came to one conclusion: He was too distracted to think straight.

Surprisingly enough, Matt was more affected by the situation with Noah and Near than he showed. Until something this major happened, he'd never realized he'd gotten close to the little albino and Risa.

Risa.

That was the subject his mind ultimately went right back towards at full-power every single time he tried to focus on stopping Mello's explosions of violence. The cute girl who had changed everyone's, especially Near's and Mello's, lives at Whammy's – she was currently missing. So really, Matt didn't blame Mello for his panic, or for his unique way of dealing with utter panic, because he himself was going through something similar, only probably not near as bad, at that exact moment.

Whammy House had been in a frenzy looking for Risa the last day and a half, but then things had calmed down again with Roger reaching the conclusion that she was smart enough to not escape and that she would show up eventually when she wanted to be found. Mello, however, didn't agree with this decision.

After retelling to Matt his conversation with Near minutes before the Incident happened, Matt knew perfectly well why Mello was so desperate to find Risa. Right now, Mello was _supposed_ to be looking after Risa, he was _supposed_ to be protecting her from whatever damage the trauma of seeing Near do such things could deal to a girl her age. Instead, he was in his room, with no idea where she was, or even of whether she was still in Whammy's House.

As a type of personal punishment, Mello wasn't even letting himself eat chocolate to calm down. He just kept on smashing tables and walls until his knuckles were bleeding, and still he continued.

Matt sat on the floor, quiet, ruffling his hair. Normally, Near was the intelligent, analyzing one and Mello was the unpredictable, but efficient one. Now, with one completely out of the picture and the other in no state to think, it was up to Matt.

Matt decided then and there that he never wanted to be L. It was fine to observe, and help now and then, it was also fine to give hints so the successor would be on the right path, but there was no way in gaming software hell that he was going to end up in such a position where he felt as if lives depended on his every decision. Newfound respect for L was neatly filed inside his mind as he got into a meditation position and started breathing in and out, blocking out Mello's foul language and the sounds of his destruction, both of himself and the things around him.

Where was she?

A map of the Whammy's House instantly presented itself in Matt's mind's eye. He could visualize it all, every secret chamber, every locked room, even places that Roger probably didn't know existed. It was all there, far more precise than any blueprint of the building that could be drawn. He wasn't the old third at the place for no reason, after all.

The problem was that he and Mello had already searched most of the obscure places that nobody else knew of and they had all been empty, not to mention the fact that Risa probably didn't know of the existence of such places in the first place. Naturally, he had to take into consideration, the "Riku factor" as Matt had nicknamed it. Hey, if she could do the impossible and get Mello out of the storm when things were clearly not in their favour, then it wouldn't be _too_ insane to suggest that she could know Whammy's House just as well as he did in case she needed to escape, right?

Personally, Matt believed that it wouldn't make any sense logically speaking for Risa to leave Whammy's House. Sure she might want to avoid being seen or making conversation with anybody for a while, but knowing her personality, even with all the messed up things he had done and the lies he had uttered, Risa would still want to give Near another chance. How would she do that if she was hundreds of miles away?

So, she _was_ inside the House, but that led right back to the question both Mello and Matt was dying to find out – where?

Growling, Matt shook his head, his thoughts were leading him in circles and contradicting each other. He needed some sort of inspiration to hit him if his stale way of thinking was going to change and give him some kind of lead. If only Mello could just calm down and help out with his thought process!

"Would you just stop that? You really aren't helping her at all like this, you know!" Matt's uncharacteristic outburst earned him a punch in the stomach from a shaking Mello who was trying so hard to stop tears from leaking out of his eyes. After another punch that made Matt moan in pain and drop like a stone to the ground once the blonde let go, Mello did indeed calm down some.

Inwardly, Matt almost laughed at the irony. He needed some sort of inspiration to "hit" him.

"So what? Do you have any ideas?" Mello sat on the bed, clenching tight to the sheets and demanded an answer. Deep down, he felt sorry for his actions, he just wasn't himself at the moment, but he refused to apologize. It was almost as if along with Risa's disappearance, he had converted right back to the hateful and violent way he used to be. Nothing but hatred drove his every action, but the problem was that he wasn't sure who he should, or even _could_ hate.

Near? But what had the albino done other than what he thought was necessary to protect Risa? With the months that he had spent actually getting to know Near, Mello had subconsciously started understanding the white-haired boy's thoughts more.

Noah? Sure, it would be easy to dump all his troubles and blames on the new kid who had taken his position and forced Near into this situation, and it would be easy too – but really… Was it his fault for wanting to be number one no matter what he had to do? After all, hadn't Mello been the very same not even a year ago?

Matt? What did he even have to do with this entire ordeal except for wanting to stick by his best friend? He didn't deserve to be treated the way he was. There was nothing he could have done to prevent Risa leaving, Mello knew that – so why was he hurting his most loyal friend?

Because he couldn't stand the answer.

The one person he hated the most was _himself_. He steadily berated himself for not being smarter, so Noah would target him instead of Near, for not being caring enough, to realize and talk Near out of the suicide plan that he had come up with. Last but not least, he blamed himself for not being strong enough to be with Risa when she needed somebody by her side the most.

"Stop tearing yourself apart from the inside for long enough to hear me out, Mello." Matt said, or rather whispered. Man, his abdomen was in pain, did a rib crack or something? "If you were playing stationary hide-and-seek, where in the Whammy's House would you hide to not be found?" It was worth a shot to hear Mello's thoughts on the matter.

Mello rolled his eyes, as if thinking such a question was foolish and useless. If something like that could answer the question, then they wouldn't be _having_ this much trouble in the first place! Still, he couldn't help but think about that question and suddenly it hit him, _hard_.

He was up and moving, finding a chair and climbing to the top of the closet before Matt could even react in any way. Then, just as quickly as the confusion had come, watching Mello's actions, it disappeared.

Knowing Mello's motto of "rules being made to be broken", in "stationary" hide-and-seek, he would naturally move around! Matt smacked himself in the forehead for not realizing earlier that it was obvious the best way to not be found was to change hiding places every little while! No wonder nobody had ever won against Mello at that game, or more importantly, no wonder nobody had found Risa yet.

"Pass me the hammer hidden under my bed, Matt! Hurry it up!" Mello was impatient, with a mad glint in his eyes, excited that they were finally making some headway. He was going to find Risa and make sure she was okay, then everything would be fine again and his mind would be able to concentrate on helping Near.

Matt didn't even question why the chocolate-loving boy _had_ a hammer under his bed, instead just passing it up quietly. Mello was back to his regular self now and he had even figured out how Risa could move around without being sighted. After all, the reason why Matt had come up with the original misconception that Risa was staying in one spot was because she would be too easily sighted by the many students wandering the halls searching for her. The answer to that problem had turned out to be incredibly simple – the ceiling!

Whammy's was designed so that between every floor there was a space in order for air to circulate properly and for less noise to be able to make its way to rooms above or below. This flaw had been discovered by Mello when he was merely six years old and then, he had taken advantage of it many a time for sneaking into the kitchen for chocolate. But then, the chefs there catching on, had reinforced the ceiling so that he could no longer sneak in. Mello, at the time, upset and angry, completely forgot about the entire flaw in general, as he couldn't think of anywhere else in particular he wanted to sneak off to other than the kitchen.

Now, he was remembering it with fervour.

With the hammer, he knocked open a particularly loose ceiling panel. Then he climbed in. It was a lot less spacious than he remembered, but that was to be expected since he had definitely grown since the last time he'd used this passageway. He wasn't really sure which direction to go in, so he just chose a random one and started crawling. Not once did the thought that Matt was still in his room awaiting his instructions cross his mind.

Matt palmed his forehead after realizing that Mello had gone to god-knows-where without a second thought of him. The blonde would almost certainly get lost without Matt navigating with his exceptional memory… Oh well, nothing to do, he supposed and he set to work putting the ceiling panel back, hoping that when Mello finally realized just how lost he was, he would at least be able to find his way back.

About fifteen minutes passed in silence, with Matt doing absolutely nothing except sitting stock still, staring at the ceiling. He felt awfully lonely now that Mello wasn't with him. Just then, the tile moved and a body dropped down on top of the closet, then bounced onto the bed with virtually no skill whatsoever. Matt raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Risa looked up at him like everything was perfectly fine and got up from the more-or-less wrecked mess that was Mello's bed.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met before." Her wide eyes and charming demeanour did not convince Matt at all that she was okay. Her clothes were ripped in some places, and covered in dust and soot and just what sort of insanity was she talking about?!

"I'm Risa, and I've just transferred to Whammy's House. I hope we get along just fine!" With that, she dusted herself off and left the door. Matt made no move to go after her. He was far too freaked out by what he had just witnessed.

Man, Mello wasn't going to like this. Not one bit.

**End Note: Happy late Christmas, and New Years! ^^**


	17. Amnesia Equals Bliss

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: You know, I wonder if people actually read every disclaimer I write… Hm… Ah, well, there goes ten seconds of your life that you won't be getting back. Still reading? I don't own Death Note, there, happy?**

**AN: OMG, two updates in two days after not updating in like four months. I know, I'm just as shocked as u, (T.T)**

Chapter Seventeen: Amnesia Equals Bliss

_13 days ago_

"Please tell me this is _not_ true. I mean, she can't just suddenly lose all her memories of us just like that! It makes no sense!" A clearly unhappy Mello was ranting in Roger's office, waiting for the old man to give him more of a clue as to what was going on. Matt was also present (holding a PSP), along with Noah who looked perfectly fine on the outside but was seriously impatient and annoyed with how Mello's rant was wasting his time. If Roger wasn't there watching their every move, he would have hit the blond on the head and knocked him out _ages_ ago. Risa, the person being discussed was nowhere near the office, instead waiting patiently inside her room, awaiting instructions.

Finally, with a chomp of his chocolate bar, Mello sat down on his chair so hard it probably would have broken had it not been for the fact that it was specially designed to be virtually unbreakable. And, Noah breathed a sigh of relief, he stayed silent.

With three pairs of anticipating eyes boring into him, Roger shrugged and announced, "Look, I'm just as worried about her as you are, alright? So, I have discussed the situation with L and we've come to the conclusion that in all honesty, it would be better for everything that she's forgotten… To stay forgotten." Looking at Mello, who was clearly about to give a cry of outrage, Roger put his palm out for silence, he was grateful when Mello did not speak, at least he had that much respect from even the most troublesome of students, "Remember, this is for her own good and in two weeks, when L comes to visit, we will review the current plan. For now, I hope you can do your best to keep her away from large groups of people as well as anything that may bring back… _Unpleasant_ memories."

Without another word, Noah stood up and left the room, one hand in a pocket and the other dangling loosely. All in all, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. The truth was the exact opposite. His brain was spinning with theories and calculations, so much that he didn't even notice the sound of footsteps which showed that Mello and Matt had followed after him, quietly agreeing to Roger's plan.

Just how long would they be able to keep the memories from surfacing though?

Noah wasn't even sure what his actual objectives were. Yes, he wanted to make Near pay, but at the cost of the person that had saved his life? Noah had never been one to think much about moral consequences, since he normally went by the motto, "You save me, I kill you. Too bad, so sad." He had more to accomplish in life and would prefer it if he didn't have to waste valuable time on useless pity games. Risa though, perhaps she'd be useful in the future if he could take advantage of her selective amnesia. Yes, in fact, that would be a far smarter plan of action than to turn against her right now when he still wasn't fully certain of the implications of her having a split personality. Besides, when it came down to it, turning Risa against him would hurt far more than just having her hurt.

With his decision made, he headed towards Risa's room. Just as he was about to gently knock on the door, a certain familiar fool with blond hair that he found intolerable blocked his way. For a split second he considered breaking the kid's jaw, but then decided that Risa would be drawn to the noise and it would be a _very_ bad first impression.

"Whoa, what exactly do you think you're doing?" Mello questioned, suspiciously. _He_ was definitely going to be the first to talk to Risa and make sure she was alright, not this stupid maniac who could end up hurting her or making painful memories surface for his own pleasure. Mello was very determined to keep Risa safe no matter what, it was more than just the feeling of guilt from that freezing cold incident not that long ago – it was a matter of his pride and keeping his word to a certain albino boy currently in solitary confinement. Perhaps his feelings went even further than that, and for a moment Mello flashed back to the short kiss he'd shared with Risa on the lips, but now was no time to think about that particular unknown feeling.

"I think I'm going to go in there and I also think that you are not going to do anything to stop me because that would only cause in unnecessary violence." His eyes bore into the younger child's, but the other showed no fear whatsoever. Damn. Now Noah regretted not making their last "fight", which more or less involved him hurting Mello severely, memorable enough. At the same time he was confused at how the second at this place filled with people so smart could have their judgement so clouded when it came down to decision time. Noah came to the conclusion right then that if he hadn't come along, Mello would have never succeeded in bringing Near down.

"So what are you trying to do, huh? Threatening doesn't work on me."

They hadn't been aware of how much ruckus they had been making and were shocked when the door opened to reveal a curious Risa. The most shocked of them all was Mello, who had been leaning his back against the door to keep Noah out – he ended up falling right into the unsuspecting girl.

"Um, so…" Risa began when everyone had been calmed down and Mello had resumed his chocolate chomping. She was sitting on her bed, facing a blond boy around her age as well as a strange red-haired gamer and last but not least, the most out of place of them all, a teenager that was _way_ older than them but was staring at her just as intensely as the other two. Man, the staring really creeped her out, but to be polite, she stayed silent about it, "What are y-you guys here for?"

"We're here to tell you that you will not be participating in regular classes for a while, instead we will be rotating and tutoring you individually." Noah said instantly before the other could say something stupid and make Risa remember things that she really didn't need to remember.

"We are?" Mello looked befuddled.

"Yes, we are." Noah confirmed, looking at him as if he expected better of the second best as Whammy's House.

"Why am I being treated differently from everyone else?" Risa asked.

Noah bit his lower lip, but surprisingly, it was Mello who came up with the improvised answer this time and it was quite good. In fact, it almost seemed like the truth. The key word there being "almost", "I'm sorry to tell this to you, but your probably already aware of it as well – you aren't exactly at the standards yet where you can take regular classes here. Um… I don't know how to put this politely…" Mello trailed off, even breaking eye contact for good measure, Noah nodded approvingly, maybe the blond wasn't as hopeless as he'd thought.

"Yes," Risa said, blushing slightly and lowering her head, "I know, so um, you d-don't have to finish the sentence."

"So, I'm Noah," Noah introduced before a certain blond could do anything at all to mess up this ideal situation, "that's Matt and this is Mello." The last name was uttered distastefully while he kept a tranquil smile on his face, "Can you tell us about yourself?" Maybe she wouldn't be so secretive with the information if she had amnesia.

"My name is Risa! I like cake and all things fluffy and pretty and yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly, suddenly Mello felt like he was watching a five years old. "Um, I like the colour red and I think this place is really cool!"

Noah blanched. Well, that was… Interesting. Not really anything he wanted to add to his notes though, just random facts that some stalker might be interested in. He was _not_ a stalker.

"We'll be visiting you from now on, taking turns so please don't leave this room except for bathroom breaks or emergencies. Mello's room is right next door, which I'm sure he'll gladly show you later." Noah paused to examine Mello's expression, as expected, it was one of shock. The boy was probably thinking something along the lines of, _how does he know THAT?!_ (AN: Please read the last sentence of above paragraph and laugh at either the joke or my bad sense of humour) "Please do not wander around – you might get lost. If you're hungry, call him and he'll get you something."

Risa nodded, and then, as if she was in kindergarten or something, she raised her hand, indicating that she had a question. Both Mello and Noah were so thrown off by the gesture that it was actually Matt, who _wasn't even looking in her direction_, who muttered a "Yes?" under his breath impatiently.

"What will you be teaching me?"

Mello shrugged, "English, gym."

Noah thought about it, "History, math."

Mello drew a breath as if he was winded or had just been punched hard in the gut. Those two words were the last things he wanted to hear at the moment. Man, Near would be so angry if he found out about this idea, but at the moment, Risa's well-being took priority over the white-haired boys. Perhaps it always would.

"Computers." Matt actually volunteered.

With a wide grin, Risa clapped her hands together, "So, you guys, want to play something now?"

Now

"OMFG, L is visiting!" Some random kid yelled – it was instant chaos at the Whammy's House. A lot of the buzz was about the purpose of L's visit. Was Near in trouble or was he about to be let out of solitary confinement which he'd been in for almost two weeks now? They awaited the answer eagerly, spreading tons of rumours while they were at it.

Fortunately, thanks to well planning and lots of luck, the rumours never actually made their way to Risa's ears.

Later in the day, with Risa and her three temporary tutors inside the office, L spoke, not without eating a chunk of cake first, of course. "I will be taking Risa away for a while now."

His simple statement was met with silence. L scanned around the room, noting each person's expression and analyzing them carefully. It was because of his tendency to scrutinize that he was often called a pervert, but the truth was that it helped to read people better if he was allowed to stare. Playing with the fork in his nimble fingers whilst chewing and thinking at the same time, he came to the conclusion that both Mello and Matt hadn't changed all that much since the last time he'd seen them. As for Noah, he had unexpectedly started accepting Risa, Mello and Matt. Not even L had anticipated such a thing – maybe the amnesia and spending so much time with such a sweet little girl had something to do with it. His eyes still weren't quite washed of their old insanity and bloodlust though, but at least L knew for a fact that he wasn't about to break as easily now.

Risa was actually the first to speak, "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where maybe you can get your memories back."

Suddenly, the room wasn't so quiet anymore as all three, yes _three_, even Matt, the normally hushed one was trying to complain. They clearly liked this new Risa. Hm. L munched some more, thoughtfully. "Just joking. I am taking you to see a good friend of mine to heal you as much as he can."

"I feel fine!" Risa exclaimed without hesitation, not noticing all four people, including Roger flinching at her words. She was as far from fine as she could get. In addition to the amnesia, there was always the leftover damage from the incident in the mountains.

"Well, we'll have him check on you anyways – a person can never be too healthy!"

At night

The children had gone to bed, finishing their goodbyes. Now was the time for Roger, L and Watari to discuss Near's situation.

"In all honesty, I think that he made the right choice. He did what he did in order to keep Risa safe and look how remarkably well it turned out." L commented.

"But he attempted MURDER!" Roger shouted, then covered his own mouth, scared he might have woken up some child with his scream. He was just being self-conscious, the room was sound-proof.

"I trust that he knew full well Noah wouldn't actually die from it. He is a smart boy and he would have never attempted the action otherwise. He _will_ be let out three months from now and that should be far than enough time to repent. End of discussion." Clearly L was not going to budge from the final decision he had come to, Roger only wished it would be for better and not worse.

**End Note: If you have any suggestions for me, go ahead and put it in the review! ^^**


	18. So Alone

**Mello & Near's Idiot**

**Disclaimer: Wow, I can't believe how many times I've written this thing. Still don't own ~**

**AN: As usual, so sorry for not updating regularly. I try to, but stuff just gets in the way. Also, thx to all people who reviewed!!! I really don't know when the next update is gonna come, but it helps to know people are waiting for it!**

Chapter Eighteen: So Alone

Solitary confinement wasn't exactly an uncommon punishment at Whammy's House. Suspension was not really an option, since every child lived at the House, and expulsions were about as rare as flying pigs. The children lived in the House, learned, experienced, grew up and left – that was pretty much the routine for those not vying for L's spot (and even those vying for it, unless they seriously had the skills).

Despite the fact that Near had never, personally, been subjected to this particular punishment before – he had been fairly certain that he wouldn't mind it that much. This punishment was more for those selective students that just couldn't sit still and _had_ to have social lives. Near was no such person. He could be perfectly content playing with his toys in the Common Room from morning to afternoon. As far as he was concerned, solitary confinement was just normal life, minus classes, the cafeteria and Mello. Three things he honestly didn't mind missing.

The logic mentioned in above paragraphs only pertained to _before_ he met Risa though, before this entire fiasco. Now, it was clear that Roger could have not possibly thought up a more torturing punishment.

It may be torture, but at least it worked.

Staring at an acanthus plant on the floor with its decorative spiny leaves leaking out of the sides of the old, glued-together pot it was in, one of the only things actually inside the room with the albino boy – Near finally admitted that right now he was feeling a multitude of overwhelming emotions.

This wasn't like him at all. Normally, Mello would be the one to strike out or speak up due to emotions alone. Near was the one who watched quietly, who _analyzed_ and who made no plans except successful ones that helped him accomplish his goal. Near was _not_ the type to be sitting in an empty room, berating himself about what he could have done differently if only he hadn't been so disturbed by what would happen if he didn't act fast enough.

If only he could get the reassurance that everything had gone the way he had planned, that Risa was fine and that Mello was taking care of her at this very moment, then he could spend the next couple of months perfectly satisfied. At the moment though? He was panicking inwardly at thoughts of what Noah could be up to.

Being in solitary confinement meant that he did not have any of his possessions available to him, regardless of how scantily few there were of those in the first place. The thing that Near missed the most terribly out of all those possessions surprised even himself. He needed his sleeping pills. Now, every night, the exact same dream would haunt him – growing more vivid and life-like each time. Near would wake up crying and shaking, not caring if there was a camera installed in the room to see how he was doing. Damn it all, if he was to going to see Risa in that state one more time, he just might have a mental break down!

Another thought that kept on striking him was the knowledge that this was the room where A had committed suicide. Near didn't know if there was some kind of strategy behind using this very room as the one for solitary confinement (mostly likely there was – in order to scare the students), but it certainly served to unnerve him. It seemed as if the ambiance of the room was dark and foreboding, and as if every second he spent in the place was making him more angsty and depressed.

All this time to think and nothing to direct his thoughts towards.

Near shivered. He felt so alone.

That was the flaw in his plans after all. Nobody else had to suffer but him. In just turned out that Near wasn't nearly as altruistic or selfless as he had first thought, he did hate suffering as much as the next guy.

_It's all for Risa._

Even as he thought that, Near could feel the bile arising in his throat. But what of his feelings towards her? Did she even recognize them, or was it just a hopeless one-sided affection that even he would soon get over and forget? Just a craving, artificially created in his heart because she was the first one to really get to know him, to like him, as a friend, as another human being, not just the number one genius at Whammy's. Near knew exactly how much Risa meant to him, but he questioned how much she actually cared about him.

Was she angry with him for hurting Noah, or was she forgiving, knowing that he must have had his reasons? There was no way for Near to know, staring the walls of the room, the paint dried, chipped and fading.

Another feeling that had been starting from his stomach and eventually spreading towards his heart and upwards to his brain was a boiling sensation. Jealousy. Near recognized it but refused to admit that he actually felt such a shallow emotion. Still, it was there, nagging away at him, waiting for one day when he would snap and fall victim to it.

Who was he jealous of?

Mello.

What irony, right? Mello had been jealous of Near since the very beginning, and that jealousy and gotten out of control, even turned into hate. So now, when Near thought of Mello comforting Risa and being right where he wanted to be the _most_ right now, he couldn't help but laugh one horrible, bitter laugh.

Near curled up into a small protective ball in a corner of the room, just wanting to block the rest of the world out and get a bit of peaceful rest. But with his nights haunted by nightmares and his waking moments spent tearing himself apart from the inside, Near really didn't know what to think or do anymore. All he _could_ do was wait for this all to be over and make up plans on what to do when he was released.

Near let out a shoulder-wracking sob. So alone…

Exact same time, in Whammy's House Park…

"Dude, stop stalking me, it's totally freaking me out." Noah said nonchalantly to Mello, who he'd noticed had started following him around ever since Risa left with L. It was getting on his nerves a _lot_. What was with this blonde kid that just wouldn't leave him alone?

"No." Mello honestly wanted to do something to help Risa, but with the person in question so far away, the only action he could think of to take was to follow Noah. You know… Just in case the evil person was preparing for some new plot that would cause more confusion and sadness. Near would be out soon, and Mello was determined to show the white-head that he had not wasted all that time he'd spent in solitary confinement. The problem? Noah was acting just like any regular smart teenager who'd suddenly gotten a stalker; there was nothing different that would suggest he really was thinking of bad things to do to Risa.

Noah mentally sighed. Why wouldn't the chocolate-loving fool just get the point already?! He wasn't going to act until either Risa was back or Near was released, there would be no point! Not only was Mello being an extreme inconvenience for him – he was also wasting his own time!

Wherever Mello went, Matt naturally followed, and this month had been no different. It was like a game of follow-the-leader, except Noah, being the leader was very, _very_ reluctant and kept on trying to get the two idiots to go away. That plan never quite worked out though, because between Mello's information network (he was still a popular guy despite his bad temper) and Matt's mental map of the school, Noah could never stay alone for more than a couple of minutes.

Still, the month had been interesting enough. Mello and Noah had both gotten a chance to get to know each other, whether they wanted to or not. Their relationship never improved though, since they still threatened each other on a regular basis and sometimes even had explosions of violence (Noah's not nearly as public as Mello's). Still, Mello kind of grew to accept Noah even a little bit more as a fellow human, instead of an evil megalomaniac blown out of proportion.

Matt's attempts at hacking into the mainstream Whammy's House database had finally paid off and they now knew the exact origin of this new rival. After reading his files, Mello couldn't exactly say he pitied the teenager, but maybe it helped him realized that even Noah wasn't as perfect as he seemed, and maybe it even helped him hate the brown-haired boy just a little less.

Noah's family had been brutally murdered before his eyes, the killer not the least bit considerate for what that would do to Noah's psych. In fact, the boy had barely even survived the ordeal himself. L happened to be nearby on another case and after talking to Noah carefully after the incident (which he had taken personal interest in), he had decided to send the clearly talented boy to Whammy's. At the bottom of the page Matt had found, L had typed in the comments section:

"Please keep an eye on this one for me, Roger. I want to believe that he will become a great asset to humanity, but to be honest, he could just as well become the opposite. He took a psychological test before being accepted but I'm suspecting that he bent the answers to his will, a common problem with such bright students. Still, this could be problematic, as I have no way of knowing if he will begin causing problems at Whammy's. I hope he will serve as enough stimulation for both Near and Mello to grow though; as for whether or not he can handle the responsibility of being L, that is yet to be discerned. Last but not least, if you're reading this right now Matt, you're a naughty kid for hacking into Whammy's House system. Please never do it again."

Matt had not been the least bit shocked when he had read the last two sentences. He had been aware that L had been aware of his hacking habits ages ago. It was just surprising that L would put this information out there blatantly _expecting_ him to get is, is all. After all, the stuff in the file was pretty personal – and L didn't like to expose Whammy's House children's secrets unless things got really desperate, which Matt took to be the case this time.

Deep at night that day, Noah lay in bed, thinking of recent events and just reflecting on his life in general. How fast things change. His objective had gone from becoming L, to defeating Near, to hurting Risa, to what it was now: To get Risa to hurt Near so he could take first place and become L. Everything was falling into place at last, and finally he would be in control of the most powerful detective force on the planet – of "justice". So why in the world did his heart feel so hollow and everything he did so useless?

In a twisted way, Noah was actually grateful that there had been somebody in this world capable of prompting him into showing his true self. It made everything all the more interesting and more challenging. But most importantly, it made him feel less like he was a coward, hiding behind his alternate persona because his original one would easily repel people and get people to hate him. The people closest to him now in the entire world were L, Near, Mello, Matt and Risa. Considering that about half those people hated him, one was suspicious of him and he had caused one to get amnesia – Noah really thought that he had hit an all-time low.

Was this really the life he wanted?

He couldn't answer that question. He was just a little too honest to say "yes" and just a little too prideful to say "no". He couldn't bring himself to admit that all of the work he had done up until now had been for nothing and that he had missed out on the most important thing of all. All he could do was continue to walk on this path he had chosen to the very end.

This path of vengeance, of hate, of all the sins in the world.

A lone tear trickled out of the corner of his eye and he was grateful that at least the blonde and his sidekick gave him some privacy in his sleeping quarters.

This path just made him feel…

… so alone.

**End Note: Don't really have much to say, except: Please review! ^^**


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